Withering
by Gecko Osco
Summary: Based loosely off “Beauty and the Beast.” A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it. Can she save him before all the petals wither away? DxS, TxJ
1. Chapter One

_**Withering (1?)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter One: _A Curse and a Wish_**

It is said that long ago, at least by mortal reckoning, there lived a mighty king, known throughout the lands as only Jack, and his beautiful queen in a wondrous castle of white marble and stone. The king, while bumbling and foolish at times with his eccentric inventions, was an exceptionally good ruler, and his wife was his equal...a huntress whose wild spirit could not be tamed. They ruled their lands for many years in peace, bearing a daughter whose red hair shown bright in the sun, and the people loved their rulers. However, things were not all well.

Deep in the mountains, there lived a sorcerer, known only by Plasmius, who hated the mighty king with all his black heart. The reasons that most people believed was that he was jealous of the power that the king wielded, and wanted the kingdom for his own…but that was only a small part of the answer, and a much lighter side at that. The true reason was that Plasmius, despite his evil soul, loved the queen with all his heart, and scorned the man whom he thought had stolen her away from him. As he continued to live in his seclusion, his bitterness festered within his soul until it all but consumed him…and he decided to strike back at the king and make him pay.

During all this time, the queen, known by Maddie to her subjects, gave birth to another child…a son with ebon-black hair and glittering blue eyes, and the lands rejoiced at the new heir to their kingdom. The son grew into a precocious boy, and it was often seen around the household the prince scampering around with a dark-skinned boy and creating all sorts of mayhem. And it was on the child's sixteenth birthday, the day that he would become a man that everything changed.

The sorcerer, Plasmius, disguised his face with a glamour, hiding the red of his eyes and the pale hue of his skin with those colors more normally seen among the world of mortals, and decided to attend the boy's majority…with a plan to make King Jack suffer for the crimes he committed against his person. After all had presented their gifts to the young prince, Plasmius stepped forward and demanded that the king relinquish his hold on the kingdom and his wife or a great calamity would befall him…casting off the glamour as he spoke and silently reveling in the gasps of fear that ran through the attending household and townsfolk.

King Jack refused, declaring that nothing done to him would ever convince him to hand over those whom he loved to a madman…he did not fear death or enchantment. And ere he struck, Plasmius smiled awfully and narrowed his deep crimson eyes at the four defiant royals, a smile that chilled the very room to the bone. Even as the royal guards struck out with arrows and bolts, Plasmius unleashed a wave of magenta energy that enveloped the entire chamber, urging many gathered to scream in both pain and fear as they felt their very essence warped.

Plasmius spoke aloud in a fanatical tone as the king and queen disappeared from the chamber in a flash of magenta, proclaiming to all present the doom he placed upon the royal family, and also on all who served them as friends and subjects alike. The young prince, whom he hated the most and wanted desperately to serve him forever as a slave to punish the king for stealing away the woman he loved, would be cursed to walk among the dead and the living…a part of both but belonging to neither.

The prince would have the equivalent of a hundred mortal years to break the curse, a curse that could only be broken by a maiden who willingly loved the prince for the monster he was, before he would die completely…his soul forever imprisoned by Plasmius. He did not speak of what befell the king and queen, leaving only a single, enchanted rose that bloomed a brilliant shade of lilac…a rose that would count down how long the prince had to reverse the curse and free his and his father's people from their curses as well.

And then he disappeared along with the magenta light…leaving a confused crowd behind who no longer could feel anything.

The prince let out a shallow breath as he craned his head up to look into his sister's saddened face…a face that no longer held the brilliant rosy hue and turquoise eyes that now glowed a neon green. And when a mirror was raised before him, he no longer saw the black hair and blue eyes he had grown with…they were replaced with snowy white and vivid green, along with slightly paler skin and a perpetual cold air around him. It was just as Plasmius had cursed him…neither a boy nor a spirit, but rather something awful in between.

His sister and closest companion urged him not to lose hope, that they would find a way to reverse what had been done, and also free their parents wherever they may have been taken to. But, as years passed, echoed only by the changing of the seasons and the decaying of the once proud castle, and no maiden had yet to prove she could love someone who was part ghost and part human, the prince fell into despair and turned bitter against the world for judging him so cruelly as some monster.

Besides, who could ever learn to love a halfa?

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"Samantha!" a voice screeched from the backdoor of a rather large farm house, jolting the daydreaming girl out of her reverie. "Stop that incessant doodling this instant and get yourself back in this house now! You'll never be ready for the grand ball the Mayor is throwing tonight if you don't come in now!"

The aforementioned Samantha, known better as Sam throughout the town, rolled her lilac eyes at her mother's voice and shut her black drawing book with a frown. She really hadn't meant to incur her mother's wrath today, she knew how much her mother loved to show off her status at local town events, but all the strange dreams she had been having of late were gnawing at her mind. She thought if she'd draw them down, give solid reality to her daydreams, that she'd be able to make better sense of them…alas, all she was rewarded with was a rather intricate looking flower and a mysterious castle that looked a bit dark, even for her.

Sam pushed herself off the ground while cradling her drawing book, brushing her free hand on her dark green grubbing dress to get rid of dirt and grass, and walked toward her anxious looking mother; the woman could not be anymore blatant about her impatience Sam thought to herself with a small smirk. "I'm sorry, Mother…I guess I just lost track of the time."

"Well, hurry up and get dressed!" her small, red-haired mother said briskly as she ushered the smaller girl inside with hurried hands. "Mayor Baxter is expecting us to look our best, and with your father away on business, it's up to us to maintain the Manson name."

Sam frowned to herself as she shut her bedroom door behind her, silencing any more of her mother's comments for the time being…her mother wanted her to look her best in hopes to marry her off to the mayor's son. Sam snorted to herself as she pulled off her more 'common' clothing and slid into new undergarments…the moment she'd marry that boorish excuse for a man called Dashiel Baxter was when she'd wear pink willingly; it just wasn't going to happen. Her father understood, he always had known that Sam wanted more in life than to be married off and continue her life as a socialite…she wanted adventure and excitement.

Sam shook her head as she pulled on a thin under-gown, and opened her door to allow her mother's servants to help with the rest of her outfit. She hated going to the balls, she really did, but at least she was able to pick out gown colors on her own…and making sure there wasn't a pastel color in sight, much to her mother's chagrin. The dressing maids helped her put on a flowing, dark blue gown, with a bodice shaded in a lighter blue and laced up with white ribbons. Those same white ribbon were threaded threw her dark black hair, leaving wisps to frame her face, and then she slid on dark blue slippers to complete the outfit.

She glanced at herself in the mirror as the maids hurried out to fetch her mother, placing a single choker around her throat, shaded the same dark blue as the gown, as she appraised herself. She was short, but not overly, and had a slender frame that her mother liked to compare to a dancer's. Her skin was a pale cream, and she looked like a gothic beauty with her dark hair and violet eyes…she always thought it funny that she inherited her radical grandmother's looks when both her parents were fair of hair and eyes. She supposed she looked well enough, not that she cared much in the first place, and felt ready to brave yet another night of utter boredom while her mother simpered and coddled with the town's elite and those her own age coddled with themselves.

"Must you always choose such dark colors, Samantha?" her mother asked with a sigh as she looped her arm with her daughter's and directed them both toward their waiting coach. "Why not try a sunny yellow, or a blossoming pink for a change?"

"I'm a creature of the night," Sam replied with a smirk, muffling her laughter at her mother's affronted look. "I don't do sunshine."

Her mother heaved a huffy sigh as she climbed into the coach, saying nothing further about the matter and opting to glare at her rebellious daughter instead. Sam was thankful for the silence; it gave her time to think and pretend like her life was more than what it was. The coach began moving past the Manson home and lands and into the inner town itself…but Sam was too lost in her thoughts to see anything beyond her reflection on the coach window.

She and her family had moved to the sleep little town of Amity Park some four years past, when she had just turned twelve and began seriously rebelling against the role her mother wished for her to play in society. Her father, a renowned inventor, had decided to move to Amity Park after his wealth had grown, hoping to move his family out of the polluted larger cities and live a calm life out in the countryside. Her mother had been wary at first, she was quite fond of her parties and such in the cities, but acclimated to the more rural life quickly once she befriended the mayor's wife; as long as her mother had parties, she was happy.

Sam…had not adjusted so easily. She had never really thought of how different she was from other girls when living in larger cities, there had been many different kinds of people, her own idiosyncrasies seemed miniscule in comparison…but here, it seemed that everyone couldn't see anything but them. She wanted to become an artist and abhorred the social standards that many took as the norm…and for that she was referred to as "strange" and "peculiar" by the townsfolk when she ventured into town to borrow a book or help her mother shop. She really didn't care what people thought about her, she never had to her mother's constant annoyance, but it bothered her that people couldn't seem to accept her as an individual…just another beauty who was too odd for her own good.

Sam traced an outline of a rose on the window pane as she waited for their short journey to end…a rose, that's what the flower in her dreams reminded her of. A dream that she had been having for the past few weeks, ever since her father had left for his annual trip to the invention fair in Mayville…and it was always the same. She always saw an evil looking castle looming before her, surrounded by tall and menacing looking pine trees, and felt like someone was calling her name. Whenever she turned to look for the owner of the voice, so sorrowful she couldn't tell if it was male or female, all she saw was a single, glowing flower colored a deep lilac. It was dying though…the petals left were drooped and dead looking while it was surrounded by the ones that had already fallen.

The dream was puzzling to say the least, and until just now, she hadn't recognized the wilting flower as a rose…it was annoying to her that she couldn't figure out what the dream was trying to tell her. She found her thoughts jolting out of that train of thought for the second time, however, as the coach came to a stop in front of an impressive looking house that emitted loud music and fake laughter. Sam groaned inwardly as a footman helped her from the carriage, but kept her face distant for her mother's sake…she would feel guilty to know that she was the cause of the poor women to pass out from hyperventilating.

The light was much too bright. And the music appalled her, but the petite maiden plastered on a polite grin as she and her mother were announced to the Mayor, maybe if she allowed her mother this moment, she could travel with her father on his next business excursion. Soon enough, her mother was wept away by other noble looking women, and Sam wormed her way through the crowds to stand alone near the French doors that opened to the gardens. All she had to was remain as inconspicuous as she possibly and then they would leave…simple and yet effective. Just breathe in, and breathe out, and don't make direct eye contact…blend into the wall and people will just leave—

"Samantha!" a deep baritone addressed her…obviously she just needed to hide behind a shrub or something. "What are you doing all alone? You should be talking and mingling with me…something that all the ladies in here would kill to be doing."

"To bad I'm not one of them, Dash," Sam responded in an acidy tone without directing her gaze towards the tall and 'intimidating' blonde, young man. "But, I'm sure Paulina would be overjoyed to replace me."

She didn't wait for the primeval-like man to respond, knowing that he would gape like a beached fish for a good minute before trying to insult her in turn, and walked away from the party and headed outside to gaze at the stars. She wished the stupid ogre would just leave her alone…sometimes she felt like the only reason he would attempt to 'woo' her was because she was the only girl in town who had no desire to marry him. Sam gave a mirthless chuckle as she thought of what her mother's reaction would be when her only daughter told her that she didn't think of herself as the marrying type…if nothing else, just to see the utter shock.

Sam closed her violet eyes for a moment as she perched herself on the edge of a fountain, and then arced her back so her face turned upwards towards the stars. She opened her eyes and stared at the glittering dots for a few minutes…the silence was comforting. One day…one day she'd get out of this tiny, backwards town and have her adventure…one day she would. Until then, she'd just wait for the sun to rise the next day and bring her father home.

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William Manson urged his legs to move as fast they could go…he could hear the wolves behind him getting closer with every passing moment.

It had been a seemingly normal return trip from the fair in Mayville, and he was looking forward to returning to his wife and daughter and regaling his rewards he earned for his newest invention. But, one wrong turn warped into something horrible, and now he feared that he would never see his family again. He thought it was a shortcut, the path that seemed to cut through an abandoned wood that seemed haunted…but William Manson didn't believe in such nonsense, even if his mount was skittish about the path. The horse had been spooked by something, some sound or shape that was emitted from the dark woods, and had bucked him off…and then the wolves found him.

He was running out of steam…he was going to die…he could hear them yapping at his heels…

A huge castle loomed in front of him, a huge castle with a black, iron gate. He didn't have any thought besides trying to save himself from the wolves, so he sprinted with the last of his strength towards and past the gate, slamming it shut just as the wolves would have converged upon him. He only remembered hearing a faint, echoing voice before darkness claimed over his vision…

…

But then, he heard voices and he blinked away the weariness from his eyes and tried to focus on what he was hearing.

"I don't care if he's angry, Tucker! I wasn't about to let the poor man freeze to death out in the night. It's bad enough he was hounded by those awful wolves the whole way here…the least we can do is try to help him until he regains his strength."

"Jazz! I understand that all those tings happened to him, but that doesn't change the fact that if he comes down, and sees this stranger in his _favorite _chair, that he'll go psycho on us and on him!"

"Then he won't find out…"

"Don't you dare encourage her Valerie!"

William shook away the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes and found that he was no longer lying in the cobble pathway leading up to the dark castle, but instead was wrapped in a blanket in a large chair in the middle of a sumptuous looking den. He focused his blue eyes on the direction he heard the voices coming from…but only found a book, a sword, and a tall lamp Three ordinary objects that were talking and had faces that resembled that of a human. He let out a frightened yelp that attracted the attention of each item…and then they moved towards him.

"I'm sorry to wake you like this," the book said with an apologetic face. "And I'm sorry you have to see me talking through a book…it's the only way you could've seen us. My name is Jazzmine…most just call me Jazz. The sword is Valerie, and she's the arms master of this palace, and the lamp is Tucker, the steward here. Feel free to rest here until you feel well enough to travel home."

"I don't really think that this is a good idea…" the lamp said with a frown forming on its lampshade.

"Would you just be quiet, Tuck?" the sword asked as it narrowed its two eyes at the lamp.

"I don't want to intrude…" William replied, smiling despite how silly and strange it was to be speaking with household objects.

"It's no intrusion at all," the book named Jazz replied with a smile forming on its cover. "Feel free to stay here as long as you like…just let me warn you about me brother quickly and then---"

Before the book named Jazz could finish, a ghostly wail echoed through the castle, causing each enchanted object to wince and William to cover his ears and crouch to the floor in fear of whatever made that noise. He could vaguely hear the book shouting at him to not stare, but he didn't understand what she meant until he look up and saw a grim looking being…a Phantom floating in the doorway, glaring at him with anger and bitterness. He was exactly frightening, as he looked no older than his own child, but it was those eyes…and the fact that he looked to be dead, but there he was in plain sight. William found that try as he might, he couldn't tear his terrified expression away from the ghost.

"Is that all you can do?" the figure asked in an angry hiss the green eyes alighting with a fire that burned with hurt and ire that seemed much older than the youthful face. "Is that all any of you can do…just stare at me? Stare at me like I'm kind of monster?"

"N-no!" William stuttered, backing away in fear as the phantom walked towards him. "I-I didn't mean to…I was j-just lost and…I needed someplace t-to stay…"

"Well, the dungeon is a wonderful place to stay," the Phantom said in a quite whisper, waving his hands and not paying any mind to the yelps of alarm that William let out as invisible hands began to drag him away. He turned around and glared at three glowing figures that stood above three motionless objects that had once been infused with life. The bespectacled boy was pointing at the red-headed woman, who had her hands on her hips as she glared at the snowy-haired phantom, and the curly-haired woman just stared at him impassively. "That's all they ever see…a monster. Just stop it Jazz…"

The harshness slipped off the face, leaving the Phantom looking young and vulnerable as he floated away from the three ghosts and phased through a wall. The three specters shared a sad look before disappearing themselves…a silent shred of hope beginning to tear that they would ever be freed from their curse…

Or that their prince and brother would ever find someone to break him free of an awful fate…

TBC…

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Please do me the favor and review! They are greatly appreciated! More to come soon!

Osco


	2. Chapter Two

_**Withering (2?)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Two: _Sacrifice_**

Sam was beginning to worry.

She hadn't thought much about her father's absence until the night after the party, probably because it was at the party she began to miss him terribly, but now…it was just disconcerting. Her mother was even starting to act worried about her overdue husband; they had appearances to keep up after all. Sam remembered her father telling her that he would be back within a fortnight from Mayville, and now five days past he still hadn't come home. She knew it was silly to worry as she did, he was probably delayed due to weather or something trivial like that, but she couldn't shake the raw feeling of foreboding from her gut. Just something…

Sam rubbed her temple with two fingers as she sat in the field outside her family's farm, surrounded by tall green grass, yellow and white daises, and those fun little cotton blossoms that one could blow everywhere. She decided that half of what put her on edge was the increase in the dreams she had begun having…they didn't become any clearer mind you, they just happened more often. They had even stopped being restricted to happening in dreams…they happened when she was wide awake now as well, making her disoriented and with a headache afterwards. She knew there had to be some kind of meaning behind them, you didn't just have the same dream over and over for nothing, but she couldn't figure out what anything meant.

Sam let out a loud sigh as she lay back against the soft grass, fixing her lilac eyes on the blue sky that was punctuated with puffy, white clouds as she tried to clear her head of all the thoughts running around in her head…the certainly weren't helping her headache any. Focus on something more mundane, something that doesn't feel like it matters in the grand scheme of things.

Sam smirked as she recalled the unforgettable moment of Dash Baxter coming to her house three days past and trying to convince her to marry him. He had been wearing a suit that looked like he wanted to marry that afternoon…it really had taken all of Sam's will power to not openly insult him as he strutted about her house and talked about their future six sons; all burly just as their father was. It was only out of respect to her mother's health that she hadn't thrown him out when he mentioned something about massaging his feet…at least, she hoped he said feet. She hadn't really been paying attention to what he said until he just came out and asked her to marry him, then she felt morally obligated to all womankind to, delicately, throw the brute out, not minding if he landed in a puddle of mud in the least.

Her mother had been incredibly upset with her that afternoon, going as far as calling her a disappointment to the Manson name before she calmed down enough to listen to Sam's version of the events. Listening to hearsay was dangerous after all in a small town. The proud Pamela Manson had been upset to hear that Dashiel Baxter had just shown up and asked Sam to marry him…propriety demanded that he ask permission from the parents first of course, and she had decided to side with her daughter after much critical thinking.

It was when Sam said she would never marry such a boorish pig for a man that her mother really got upset.

Sam closed her eyes for a moment as the sun began to make her eyes water, and opened them as she sat back up, a cotton blossom twirling in her hand. Luckily, her mother began to fret over her belated father soon afterwards; it cut down the amount of glaring and sobbing her mother had probably planned for her disobedient daughter. The problem was, Sam started to worry right alongside her mother…it was never a good thing when both Manson women agreed on something.

Sam rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm them as the sun began its descent, painting the sky brilliant shades of orange and yellow. He pushed up to a standing position, the slight breeze causing her loose dark hair to tease her face from where wisps had fallen out of the bun. She wiped her hands on her dark brown linen trousers, not caring in the least if she grubbed them up a bit, before deciding to head back in…she had daydreamed and fretted enough for one afternoon. Her loose, light blue blouse floated around her as she began walking against the slightly stronger breeze…she loved wearing clothing designed for men whenever she could, finding it much more comfortable and practical than all the stiff and uncomfortable layers of clothing that women had to wear to be proper.

Just as she was about to reach the back door, she heard the whinny of a horse, and turned about to find a fine black mare galloping towards the farm. The horse was one of Sam's favorite, and that's why she always made sure her father took her whenever he went away on long trips for business…she was the smartest horse Sam had ever ridden, and always seemed to know when danger was nigh. She had a wild look in her eyes, and Sam hurried towards her to clam her with soothing words and motions on her muzzle, only registering the fact that she was most definitely rider-less when those intelligent black eyes regarded her sadly.

"Lillith," she said with a slight quiver in her voice…maybe her father had just lost his bearings and had slipped off close to the house. "Where's…where's my father? Did…is he all right?"

The horse seemed to understand the panicked girl's question and let out a soft nay as she flicked her ears black and gestured towards the forest with her head. Sam let out a small sound as she attempted to process what Lillith was trying to tell her. Motioning to the forest could be anything…the forests surrounding Amity Park were vast and frightened many of the local villagers. Lancer, one of the town's educators, would tell his students the stories surrounding those woods…how they were haunted by a cursed family who once ruled a nearby kingdom. He would always tell these stories to prove them as such, simple stories meant to entertain but not believe, but the townspeople still seemed to fear those woods. Was her father lost somewhere in those woods…alone and without a horse to get home?

Sam was about to call out for her mother when a small flower tangled in Lillith's mane caught her eye…it was a deep lilac blossom that only grew in one part of the forest…past the twilight and in dark under-bushes. Her father had shown her them on a ride deep into the forest once, before both had been informed they were haunted. She narrowed her eyes and felt a determined flash streak through her…she knew how to find her father and help him back home if he was injured. She cast a glance back to her home for a moment before turning back to Lillith and mounting her with the ease of an experienced rider.

"Go, Lillith," Sam urged in the mare's soft, black ear as she entwined her hands in the reins that were still around the horse's neck. "Run as fast as you can towards my father…"

The mare seemed to detect the urgency in Sam's voice, taking off back into the forest with a burst of speed that was almost unrivaled in Amity Park. The cold air that rushed by chilled Sam down to the bone, the casual clothing she had on not doing much to protect her from the elements, but she didn't even indulge in slowing down…her father could be hurt, or worse, out there. She could stand being cold for a little while. The slight purple-eyed girl guided black horse with ease towards the heart of the forest…maybe she would find something there to tell her where to head next.

After the sun had dipped out of the sky, a grayish pre-twilight now coating the sky as stars began to twinkle, Sam had finally reached the clearing that held the small purple flowers…lavender her father had named them, and looked all over for any signs of her father. All she could see was some old hoof prints that were almost washed away by the wind and new hoof prints Lillith was making. Sam was about to let out a frustrated growl when she spotted footprints to the left of the clearing, prints made by a finely made pair of boots, and they seemed to head even deeper into the woods…that's where her father went.

Sam nudged her heels into Lillith's side and set off after the prints, ducking her head when a stray branch from the looming trees came to close for comfort. The temperature dropped enough to cause the girl to chatter her teeth, pressing herself closer to the tiring horse in an attempt to find warmth. She had lost sight of her father's tracks, but she saw wolf tracks, and that encouraged her to stay on the present path…she just hoped for good and not ill. Her face felt raw from the wind whipping against it, and she could hear how labored Lillith's breathing was becoming…just a little bit further!

The forest seemed to end abruptly, and Sam found herself staring up at huge castle, dark and curved to give it an unearthly quality that invited doom to unsuspecting travelers. She felt her eyes go wide and her mouth drop in a small _O_ of surprise, letting a tired Lillith trot slowly towards the dark iron gates...this was the castle from her dreams! Every gargoyle, every spiked tower, every dark angle mirrored the castle she had been seeing in her dreams for the past moon almost…is this where her father was?

Sam dismounted gracefully as she and the mare stopped in front of the gate, wrapping her arms around her shivering body as the gates seemed to creak open of their own accord…she didn't know if she shivered out of cold or fear. She motioned for Lillith to follow after her, which the horse did with a look of trepidation in her step…great; even the horse knew this was bad idea. The doors to the massive manor were ornately carved, that much Sam could tell, but it seemed that age had obscured most of what was depicted considerably…the doors opened just as easily as the front gate had, and with a moment of hesitation, Sam stepped into the dark interior, staying a hand for Lillith to stay still and wait outside.

"Hello?" Sam called out in the lightly lit manor, cringing slightly as her voice echoed back at her through the empty home. But, there were lights on and the interior looked taken care of…someone had to live here. "Is anyone there?" She walked further past the entry way and stared at the huge stairway that seemed to wind up to the top of the castle…and she couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was following her.

She turned around and looked around with narrowed eyes…but only a stray book and a tall lamp against the side of the wall were met with her vision. She looked around once more before walking to the stairs, beginning the climb up them and calling out every now and then for the master of the manor or for her father. She looked down a few different hallways before turning back around and noticing and open door that lead somewhere else…strange, she hadn't seen that door there before. She cautiously walked through the door and was met with a winding and narrow stone staircase…and a light seemed to be coming from somewhere near the top.

"Hello? I'm looking for my father and…is anyone up there?" Sam called out as she steadily climbed the narrow stairs, pushing her mussed hair out of her face with a deft hand movement. She only had her protesting legs to measure how long she had been climbing, but she smiled briefly as she reached the apex of the stairway and pushed open an ancient looking wood door.

"Father?" Sam called out softly as she looked around the room, noting the cells that marked it as a dungeon…she hoped her father wasn't here. But, a cough coming from behind one of the solid and barred doors dashed that hope…especially when she heard her father's weak voice call out to her.

"Samantha…what are you doing here?" William Manson's haggard and pale face came into view through the bars near the top of the door. His blue eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and his skin looked stretched across his face…he looked so sick. Sam smiled in relief that her father was still alive however, and reached her small hands through the bars to hold onto his clammy ones. "You…you have to leave this place, Sam!"

"I'm not going to just leave you," Sam snorted with a small smirk on her pretty face…her father could be so silly sometimes. Hadn't she just ridden through the forest at night to find him? She could certainly get him home without too much difficulty. "You look sick anyway, you need to see a doctor. But, who put you here?"

"Sammy, please just get out of here," her father answered with wide eyes, not answering his daughter's question as to who his kidnapper was. "It's not safe here!"

"All the more reason to get you out of here!" Sam shot back with narrowed violet eyes. She opened her mouth in preparation to scold the stubborn man some more, but the words were ripped from her throat as a ghostly wail filled the dungeon and extinguished all the lights, pitching the room into utter darkness. Sam lost her grip on her father's hands and looked around wildly for anything that could have caused such a gut-wrenching sound…whoever caused must have been in a lot of pain…

"What are you doing here?" a cold voice asked the bewildered girl, a faint echo following the sound and causing Sam to whip her head around to stare at the darkened door. She hadn't heard it open, and no one had been in the dungeon besides herself and her father…how had someone just walked through the walls to enter the dungeon? "You're not welcome here…"

"I…I came to help my father!" Sam shot back with anger, a slight moment of hesitation showing her fear only at the beginning. She narrowed her eyes at the disembodied figure lurking somewhere in front of her…he was hurting her father for no reason! "Why did you lock him up! He would never hurt anyone!"

"He was trespassing," the voice, definitely male, answered with a bitter tone that made Sam cringe inwardly. "I don't tolerate trespassers and thieves in my castle."

"He would never steal! Besides…can't you see he's sick? He'll die if you keep him here!"

"Tell me why I should care?" the voice asked in a cruel tone…Sam could see a flash of green eyes in the darkness. "He's my prisoner…sometimes prisoners die. He should never have come here in the first place. Now, get out…"

Sam swallowed the retort she was longing to throw at this mystery man, and instead pushed aside her fear and stepped closer to a single beam of moonlight that had broken the darkness as the moon reached its zenith in the night sky. She still couldn't see the cruel man, but he could see her…it would be enough. "Wait…take me instead."

She heard her father protest weakly from behind the prison door, but she kept her eyes focused on the spot she believed the master of the castle to be. It hurt her enough to do this, she didn't need to hear or see his pain…but she wasn't going to do nothing as her father wasted away in a cell for doing nothing. There was no reply at first, but then his voice, filled with something akin to puzzlement and awe instead of the maliciousness that had laced the tone before.

"You…you would willingly trade yourself?"

"Yes…" Sam answered with a glare…she would not let her heart soften at how childish the voice sounded now…no older than herself and full of pain and incredulity.

"You could never return to your home," the voice impressed upon her…strange, why would he be trying to make sure she knew the consequences of her actions? "And you would never see your family again…are you willing to give that up?"

Sam began to answer, but hesitated. "Come into the light," she asked with an accusatory tone. It wouldn't change her mind but…but she had to know what she was condemning herself to before she actually did it. No answer was received, but she saw a silver encased foot step forward, followed by a glowing being that was floating at least a foot off the ground. True, his face was young and quite handsome in its own right, the ghostly green eyes were full off such loathing, both self and for everyone else, that Sam gasped aloud and took a step back. The young man's hair was a snowy white color, both dead and alive looking…just like he was. He was so cold…and staring at her with an intensity that rivaled the sun's….and maybe even the moon's.

Sam took a deep breath and stepped back into the light, standing not two feet from the ghastly…Phantom. She closed her violet eyes and raised her chin, unable to see the verdant eyes widen as he took in her face and form. "You have my word."

"So be it."

Sam felt the Phantom float past her and heard the heavy groan of a door being swung open. She turned around and embraced her father, trying not to focus on his tears lest her own would fall. "Samantha," he murmured as he clutched her weakly. "Don't do this, I'm old and have lived my life…"

"Take him back to the edge of the woods…provide him with a coat," the Phantom barked to some invisible force…and then Sam felt her father being pulled away from him and carried out the door. The Phantom followed immediately, leaving Sam to collapse on the cold floor of the dungeon and hug herself as she heard her father's anguished pleas fade away.

Sam felt a sob come over her uncontrollably, and she buried her face in her hands to let them flow, not caring that she abhorred crying and avoided it at all costs. It seemed appropriate at the moment…she had just given up her freedom, her dreams, everything in exchange for a life with bars and a cage. Yes…it seemed perfectly all right to cry.

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Please do me the favor and review! I have no words for how stunned I was last chapter…thank you all so very much for all the comments and encouragement! More to come soon!

Osco


	3. Chapter Three

_**Withering (3?)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Three: _First Impressions_**

The girl's defiant gaze was still echoing in the Phantom's green eyes as he followed two of his guards, invisible to most mortal eyes, down to the carriages…he had never seen eyes such a color before. They were so reminiscent of…no, thinking about that would only plunge him back into depression. He locked his uncaring green eyes on the struggling man before him…after begging to be released from the prison, he was fighting tooth and nail to get back; humans were fickle creatures, the Phantom decided with a slight smirk. Even though he still was one, he had been trapped in his current form for so long…it was hard to distinguish the human from the ghost anymore.

"Please!" the man cried out as he was forced into a dark, horseless carriage, blue eyes that were so unlike his daughter's desperate. "I beg you, leave my daughter be! Take me back…just leave her alone!"

"She is no longer you're concern," Phantom replied in a dead voice as the doors were swung shut and the carriage took off towards the nearest village…maybe even his own. He turned around and floated back into his manor, phasing through the walls and being met with a stern looking young woman. Despite her pallor complexion and dead green eyes, she was still a beautiful maiden, red hair long and framing her pretty face that currently had a scowl attached to it. The Phantom sighed inwardly and readied himself for the lecture he was sure to receive…one hundred years had done nothing to dampen his sister's scoldings and she felt it upon herself to give them to her cursed brother regularly.

"I hope you don't plan on keeping that poor girl up in the tower, Danny," the princess Jazzmine, Jazz to everyone in the castle, said in a sharp tone, her eyes flashing dangerously. Her glowing hands were placed on her hips and her eyes were narrowed dangerously…but it was the way his sister said his true name, the one he sometimes forgot in the depths of his mind, that heralded his attention and forced him to look into those eyes. "It would be a shame to keep the last chance you've got locked away like some common prisoner."

His eyes and face betrayed nothing as he gazed stoically back at her…it just didn't seem worth it to drag up emotions to fight…he found less and less reason to show them with each passing day. She was floating as well…no one in the Fenton Manor walked anymore; the Phantom wasn't the only one in the castle under a curse. While he had received the worse end of the stick, all others who had been present at his majority had been cursed as well, to appear like the dead until the curse on the prince had been broken…alive, but unable to look it.

"Are you even going to say anything to me?" Jazz asked in an exasperated way, throwing her hands up in the air and letting out a frustrated growl. Phantom merely stared at her before floating past her and continuing up the stairs back to where he had left the girl…his new prisoner. He didn't acknowledge the glare sent at his back from his irate sister, and also ignored the demeaning look sent his way by his arms master, Valerie, a stunning girl with long dark hair and eyes that had once been the color of dark soil. His best friend met up with him as he glided up the narrow staircase, pushing his glasses up his nose like he did whenever he was nervous or anxious about saying something.

"Uh, Danny?" the question in his tone evident as arms tightened around a stack of books he was holding. "I don't know if Jazz mentioned anything but…"

"I am quite aware that the human is a girl, Tucker," the Phantom dead-panned as he stopped outside the door that led inside the dungeon tower…he could hear muffled sniffling coming from inside. He felt something inside him stir faintly at the sound…but he couldn't remember what it was.

"Oh, good!" the dark skinned boy exclaimed with a shaky grin, his dead red eyes, once a light green, betraying the fear his voice did not. "That's a relief…then, are you even considering, maybe even a little bit, that she could um…break the…the curse?"

"The thought has crossed my mind…what I don't know is why everyone seems to be reminding me of it," the Phantom all but growled as he rounded on his friend, a scowl overtaking his usually composed face.

"Well, maybe because we don't really like looking like the undead, Danny!" Tucker hissed back, all too aware of the girl on the other side. It never bode well for evil enchantments if the person capable of breaking them caught on that it was there. It seemed to ruin the chance for some reason. "Do you really mean to tell me you don't care if the curse isn't broken? You know what happens if it doesn't…you've only got a few months left!"

"I don't see a point in raising peoples' hopes to only have them brought crashing down again," Phantom replied in a detached way…he was sure that his steward noticed that he hadn't included himself in getting his hopes up. He softened his gaze a little so he merely looked as if he was gazing impassively at the bespectacled boy. "I don't intend to keep her locked away…go and see that the amethyst room is made ready for her."

"The amethyst room?"

"It suits her eyes," was all that the Phantom said before turning away from his companion, missing a knowing and hopeful smirk on the latter's face before he hurried down the stairs. The snowy-haired spirit pushed the door open and saw the girl crouched on the ground beside one of the barred windows, her sniffling silent but her shoulders shaking slightly in a tell-tale way. He suddenly felt the words that always came so easy to him freeze up as he looked at her…she looked so scared and helpless.

As if sensing his cold presence in the room, the girl's head snapped up, those brilliant violet eyes rimmed red from crying, and her gaze narrowed as she stared at her captor…funny that he was referring to himself by that word. The slender maiden wiped her face with one of her hands as the other helped push her body into a standing position, facing off with the Phantom in a challenging way. Then, without warning, she darted forward and slapped him across the face, her body trembling in anger as she watched his head snap to the side and her teeth bared and clenched.

"You callous, uncouth, cold-hearted bastard!" she hissed at him as he brought his face forward again, one of his glowing hands rubbing his now raw cheek while he stared at her in amazement…no one had EVER spoke back to him like that! Not even when he hadn't been cursed! "You couldn't wait one second for me to say good-bye! I just signed my entire _life_ away to you and you don't even let me have one moment alone to tell my father how much I'm going to miss him! Do you even know what I gave up…do you even care?"

She whipped her body around and stalked away from him to stand beside the window again, staring out at the grounds, or maybe the moon; the Phantom couldn't tell, and he was still nursing his shock at what had just transpired. His shock quickly faded to anger, hot and burning with shame and hurt pride, and he glared at the girl's back with glowing green eyes. How dare she speak to him like that…did she think his mockery of a life was a picnic!

"I could have you locked away and killed for what you just did," he spoke in a deadly calm voice, not flinching outwardly when she turned around and bore into him with those eyes of hers. It was like she could see into his very soul. "I am the master of this castle and I demand respect from those within these halls."

"I don't give out respect," the girl answered with a sneer that seemed to be mocking his own. 'You have to earn it buddy…and fat chance of that."

The Phantom took a deep breath before glaring back at the girl balefully and turning on his heel, floating out of the room with stiff shoulders that gave away the anger still coursing through his veins. He turned around at the door and gave the girl a look before asking snidely, "Well…are you coming or not? Do you want to stay in the tower and freeze to death?"

"But…I thought that--"

"You thought wrong," the Phantom cut off, floating down the stairs, slowing down when he heard the patter of feet behind him. He sneaked a glance at her after they had descended the stairs and started down one of the many corridors; she had her arms crossed over her chest and was gazing around at her surroundings with a look that was amazed…even though she was fighting against that amazement fiercely. He suddenly felt as if he should say something, anything to breach the silence between them…it couldn't hurt to at least attempt to make nice with the girl if she was going to be staying here for a while.

"I…I hope you enjoy it here." A snort was his answer as he turned a corner down another hallway, the one with the rooms being prepared for his new guest.

"You can roam the castle and the grounds if you wish…" Another snort followed by quiet mutterings was the reply…could this girl even attempt at being civilized?

"If you need anything, my servants will attend to you." This time outright laughter, derogatory of course, was heard, causing him to turn around and glare at the chuckling girl. "May I ask what you find so funny?"

"The fact that you're trying to be polite…it's not going to make me like you," she cocked her head to the side and placed a finger at her mouth in a mock-contemplative expression that further incensed the half human spirit. "In fact…I'd say that you're just trying to avoid future confrontations between the two of us. So, you're both a bastard and a coward…what a fine master of this castle I've been imprisoned to."

The Phantom growled in a feral way as he turned back around and finished the trek to the girl's new quarters. He pushed the door open and stepped aside to let her enter, letting out an _oof_ as she purposely rammed her shoulder into his elevated gut (from the floating of course) as she entered, slamming the door behind her right in his face. His face contorted into a snarl as he whirled around to find his sister and some attendants waiting outside the door, presumably to see to the maiden's needs. Tucker shared an odd look with Jazz as the Phantom let out a string of curse words and…_marched_ down the hallway back to his own quarters.

Now, the reason this amazed the two of them was for different reasons. One, Danny hadn't actually bothered to walk like a normal human in years, the fact that he was choosing to do so now, when he seemed to be shrinking further and further away from his humanity, was something to cause people to wonder. The second was that he was already showing more emotion, be it bad or good, in one night than he had in the past ten years…and all because of a feisty little girl. It something akin to a miracle…and something that gave hope.

"Well," Tucker stated after the bitter prince had disappeared out of sight. "That was…encouraging."

"Let's hope she keeps it up, yes?" the red-headed princess said with a smile as she gave the steward a slight peck on the cheek before phasing into the girl's rooms. Tucker smiled after the beautiful princess for a moment before turning about and ordering some of the servants off to their menial jobs…it wouldn't be wise to bomb the prince with the fact that his steward and sister were seeing each other while so emotionally unstable. Nope, not at all.

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Sam slammed the door to her quarters shut and let out a frustrated scream after flinging herself on the enormous bed and muffling her face in a pillow. The audacity of the….the ghost thing…was ridiculous. After treating her so cruelly, song with her father, did he expect that she would just be kind to him because he offered her a room? She laughed mirthlessly to herself as she brought her head back up and looked around at her new surroundings. Everything in the room was some shade of purple, but mostly dark shades, and had a very baroque theme to the structure. It was a beautiful room, and she thought she might like it very much…but it was a gift from that Phantom and she was determined to dislike it.

She was about to head off towards her large window and look out over the grounds again, see if there was a different view on this side rather than from the prison tower, when the sound of faint footsteps echoed behind her. She whirled about to tell the Phantom to leave her alone…but there was no one in front but a lone book that hadn't been on the floor when she first entered. She cautiously went to pick up the book when it suddenly moved of its own accord and turned around to fix its….its eyes on her!

"Hello!" the book said in a cheerful, if a little strained voice, its green eyes open and bright. "Sorry to shock you like this, first off, you're not crazy and second off, it is a book you see talking with you. I just wanted to welcome you to the manor…and apologize for my, temperamental, brother."

"You're brother?" Sam asked slowly as she took a seat on the floor besides the book, noting that many other objects in the room had suddenly become infused with life.

"The Phantom," the book answered with a sigh, eyes closed in annoyance for a moment before looking back up at Sam. "He doesn't interact with people all that often and he sometimes forgets what it's like to be kind. He's not all bad though, just a little misunderstood. But, that's neither here nor there…my name's Jazz, feel free to call me that."

"If you're the sister though, wouldn't that make you higher ranking than me?" Sam asked with a distracted tone as a tea set served her a warm, fruity smelling drink that was nice and hot against the chill of the manor. "And, if you don't mind me asking, why are you a book…I mean, if you're brother has form, why don't you?"

"I do have form," the book named Jazz answered with a grin on its front cover. "We all do, but it's hard for mortals to see it…that's why we possess inanimate objects to talk with others. And as to my rank, I hardly think it matters anymore…please just call me Jazz, or Jazzmine if you must, like all else do in the castle. I was never one for propriety."

Sam grinned as she finished her drink and watched the objects leave the room, literally phasing through the wall, until only the book was left. "I really do wish you have happy times here, Samantha," Jazz said in a quiet tone, using her name when she thought she had told no one. "And that, with time, you will forgive my brother for his discrepancies. Until then, have a pleasant evening, and I will see you in the morning for breakfast…good night!"

The book collapsed to the ground and Sam's eyes widened as she saw a form, a figure of a girl a little older than herself, rise up from the forgotten object and disappear through the wall as well. She wondered briefly if her father could see the forms, she supposed what their true forms were, but quickly disregarded the thought as she felt the weariness of her exciting night creep up on her at long last. She quickly disrobed and looked into her large closet for something to wear for bed, marveling for a moment at the sheer number of clothing hanging in her closet…seemingly all for her. There were dresses, gowns, skirts, chemises, blouses, jackets, shifts, lingerie (although she wondered why that was there), shoes, boots, gloves, cloaks, and a wide variety of jewelry that seemed fit for a princess. Deciding to investigate her room, closet included, a bit more thoroughly on the morrow when she had regained some of her awareness, grabbing a black cotton shift and slipping it on before crawling into her vast bed.

It took her a moment before she felt sleep start to sneak upon her, despite how tired her body and frame actually were, her gaze focused on nothing as her mind went over everything that happened. She felt a wave of sadness overwhelm her again, but she stubbornly closed her eyes and refused to allow it to overcome her…she cried once, that was all she would allow for herself. When sleep finally did come, her mind was still a buzz with thoughts and questions, making her sleep fitful and restless…a familiar dream coming to haunt her once more as the moon shifted in the sky and began making way for the morning sun.

All that stood out from the dream was a singular violet rose alone in a decimated room, shining brightly despite its wilting appearance.

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Everyone is amazing…please keep up with the feedback, I love it so much! Oh, and this ought to entertain most of you…I felt compelled to have a Disney marathon the other day thanks to these damn stories…thought you'd like to know.

More to come soon!

Osco


	4. Chapter Four

_**Withering (4?)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Four: _The Fine Line_**

Tucker was beginning to wonder if it was a blessing the girl had come at all.

Oh, it wasn't because he suddenly thought having the appearance of a ghost was a good thing…it was for his stretching sanity that both the girl, Samantha, and his best friend were causing him with their constant bickering. On one hand, it was wonderful to see Danny acting so…_alive_ again, granted his emotions were necessarily the happiest ones, but they were emotions nonetheless. Everyone had been worried that their prince was beginning to lose touch with reality and was embracing the horrible fate in store for him after the hundred years were up; the sudden upswing in his human-side was encouraging to say the least.

No…it was the maiden and her completely unconventional attitude that was beginning to grate on the dark-skinned young man's nerves. His first meeting with her had resulted in him being called a "bigoted lampshade with one less light bulb screwed in" when he suggested she wear a gown to dinner one evening. First, he had been surprised that she hadn't seemed alarmed at a talking lamp post, and second he had never heard a woman speak like that…even being gone for a hundred years, Tucker knew that times hadn't changed that much. She was a brazen and loud young woman…though very beautiful with a good heart; she had to have had one to willingly trade herself for her father's safety.

Tucker rubbed his temples with a ghostly hand and groaned as he stood outside her door, yet again, to try and entice her to come down for dinner…maybe even dressed appropriately. Jazz was busy working on her brother, who also adamantly refused to dine with the "obnoxious excuse for a girl" and Tucker scowled at the thought…she had the easier of the two, hands down. "Miss Samantha," Tucker called out after possessing a nearby lamp shade and knocking on her door with his head. "I was wondering, and hoping actually, that you may want to come join the master for dinner…please?"

There was no answer at first, and Tucker vaguely wondered to himself if she was purposely ignoring him…it wouldn't be the first time she had done so. In the three weeks she had been at the castle, she had come up with increasingly cleverer, and obscure in some cases, ideas for worming her way out of a formal dinner…she didn't starve mind you, but had her meals brought to her later in the eve. Tucker knocked again, calling out her name before his face, plastered on that of a lamp shade, scowled at the door. He quickly left the lamp and floated into the girl's room in his…almost true form. He looked as he had a hundred years ago, just floating and looking like the dead. He scanned the room for less than a minute before his green eyes, almost unchanged by the curse, rested on the form of a sleeping girl on the large bed.

She was curled up around a large book, her dark hair fanning out around her like black silk, and she had a serene look on her face. As usual, she wasn't dressed as a lady usually was, wearing dark brown breeches, a cream colored camisole and a dark blue cloak…maybe she was cold dressed as a boy would. Tucker felt himself smiling, despite his previous ranting toward the girl, as he watched her start to stir awake…she seemed so at peace in her dreamy state of unrest. He chuckled lightly, hoping it was quiet enough that she hadn't heard it; she had been very accepting of inanimate objects speaking to her, but if an invisible being did…well, he didn't know how she'd take it. Usually, it wasn't well.

His contemplation of trying to avoid a confrontation with the volatile girl proved to be the steward's undoing, as while he tried to find a satisfactory lamp to occupy, Sam blinked here eyes and issued a silent yawn as she woke herself up. It took another minute or so of his flustered movements, her purple eyes watching him all the while with a small smirk playing on her face, before she decided to take pity on the poor boy and solve his problem for him.

"You can stop trying to avoid waking me up," she drawled as she cocked here eyebrow at the suddenly frozen boy, his skin glowing even brighter…maybe in embarrassment. "I'm already up, and I can hear you breathing from here." She looked directly at him and smiled softly before turning around and sitting up off the bed, stretching her arms up over her head as she did so. She didn't notice the shocked expression on the ghost's face when it first started to appear, but smirked at it when she turned about to face him again and found it there. "Yes?"

"You…you can see me!" the Tucker nearly yelled as he stared at the now chuckling girl in shock. "I- I mean…how or when…I didn't…"

"Well, you look a little transparent," Sam replied with that same smile on her face. "But, yes…I can see you like that as plain as I could see you as a lamp. It's funny really…you look and sound like a spirit, but none of you act like one."

"But…no one's ever been able to see us in our true form before!" Tucker exclaimed as his mind attempted to figure out why she was acting so nonchalant about this. Were people, cursed to appear as ghosts, a common occurrence in the world nowadays? "How long have you been able to see us, I mean, when we don't possess an object?"

"Since my first night here," Sam answered as she turned away and sat down on the sill of a large window, overlooking the west gardens and mountainside. "I was surprised at first, it's not everyday you see a girl float out of a book, but I figured you all didn't like your true forms, so I didn't press. I don't see why you wouldn't though; you all look fine to me. Am I really the first person to see you, just like you are now?"

Tucker's green eyes locked with the girl's violet ones, so full of compassion and understanding, and he had to pause for a moment to gather his thoughts…strange for him as he usually spouts what first comes to his mind. "Yes…no one else could see us…much less talk to us. Sometimes they didn't even see our likeness in the things we possessed…"

Sam didn't deign the boy with a verbal answer, merely shrugging her shoulders as she turned her attention back outside, seemingly content to stare at the changing night sky until dawn broke. Tucker floated a little closer to her, in an attempt to broach the subject of dinner again to the girl, hoping that her unusually calm demeanor would help influence her decision. "Um, Miss Samantha, I understand that you are probably weary but I, well everyone in the castle really, were wondering if you would like to attend dinner tonight? You could meet more of the household staff…I'm sure you would get along with the arms master Valerie quite well…she had never conformed to the social norms either…"

"I'm not really hungry," Sam answered with an apologetic smile he could see in the window's reflection. "Maybe some other time."

"You can't really think to live in this room forever, can you?" Tucker asked in an exasperated tone, his face imploring the girl to just give in this one time. "I understand that the whole situation is not to your liking but…but you can't just keep ignoring Danny!" Tucker clapped his hands to his mouth after he realized what he had just blurted out…and his hopes that she had not heard his slip were dashed when her head spun around and those eyes stared at him in a surprised fashion.

"So…he does have a name after all. I was wondering if that whole 'Phantom' thing was an act," Sam said with a snort as she turned her attention back to the outside scenery for only a second before she got up and walked over to stand directly in front of the floating, dark-skinned boy. "Why doesn't he use it?"

"He-he stopped using it awhile ago…please don't ask about it, Sam!"

"Does it have to do with the curse on the castle and everyone in it?" Sam asked almost to herself, so absorbed in her own thoughts she didn't see the boy's eyes widen in shock and fear.

"C-curse? What curse? Nobody said anything about a curse…nope; this castle is one hundred percent curse free!" Tucker babbled as he tried to smile at the maiden, in hopes it would dissuade her from continuing her train of thought…he didn't hold his breath though.

"I figured it out for myself," Sam replied with that damn smirk as she gave Tucker a look, one that made the 'young' steward feel sheepish all of a sudden. "But never mind about that...and before you ask, I'm positive I'm not hungry…but maybe we could do something else? I'm kind of getting sick of being cooped up here all day."

Tucker gave her a confused look, wondering what she was hinting at and why she was suddenly acting shy and innocent…he knew enough from Jazz that usually meant women wanted something. "Well…what did you have in mind?"

"I'd like a tour of the castle," Sam replied with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. "I've never been in one before…much less a 'non-cursed' one. And I'm sure you know everything about the castle as you are the steward…please, Tuck? Just one small tour and I promise I'll attend one of those ridiculous dinners; but I'm not wearing a dress."

Tucker weighed the choices in his head, both the good and bad that could happen from giving into the girl's request, and tried to avoid looking directly into the violet eyes, wide and pleading as they stared at him. They reminded him of another set of eyes that used to do the same thing…just those eyes were crystal blue and not purple. Just as he was about to voice a negative vote, deciding that the mere thought of this curious girl poking around the castle was enough to raise alarm, he was startled by the abrupt appearance of a warrior-clad girl around his age (in appearance at least) who narrowed her once brown, now black, eyes at him.

"Just let her have the damn tour, Tucker," the arms master all but growled as she rested her hand on the pommel of the sword dangling at her waist. "She's not some prisoner here, despite what it may seem like…she's a guest, and guests usually get tours of the manor. Besides, Jazz couldn't convince him to come down…it's not like he's going to be waiting or anything."

"But Valerie--"

"Come on Samantha," the floating apparition said to the smug looking girl, her black eyes tweaking in what almost looked like a smile on the usually-serious arms master's face. "We'd better get going before it gets too late and our 'guide' falls asleep on us."

"You can call me Sam," the raven-haired girl replied to the huntress as she bounced towards the door, giving Tucker another look that prompted him to follow. "I hate being called Samantha…makes me feel old."

"All right," the dark-haired spirit replied with an air of indifference. "Sam it is…I prefer Valerie, but some insist on shortening every name into monosyllabic terms, so I suppose Val is fine as well."

"You're the arms master, right?" Sam asked as the trio began their tour, two floating and one walking down the hallway and towards the main staircase of the manor.

"Yes…I became one after my brief betrothal to the, what does he call himself these days, Phantom?"

"WHAT!" Sam all but yelled as she froze on the spot, staring in shock, and something else that looked hidden beneath the surface, at the now smirking arms master. Sam really looked at the girl and felt something churn in her belly as she assessed that, even appearing as a dead girl, the warrior was still very beautiful, her dark looks and eyes making her appear exotic. "How did…when was…why are…?"

"We never did, if you're wondering," Valerie responded as she continued to smirk at the now, dare she believe it, _jealous _looking maiden. That was…promising. "While we cared about each other very much, we knew we were not the right souls for each other…I decided to stay after we announced our betrothal null and void, and became arms master around his sixteenth birthday. But, I wonder, why do you care?"

"I don't! I mean…I…" Sam responded, turning a brilliant shade of red, after a few moments of awkward (at least for her) silence between the three of them. She felt whatever was causing her to feel so angry at the girl fade and smiled sheepishly as she noticed Tucker staring at the two girls. "So…let's continue with the tour, yes?"

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The tour turned out to be very interesting to Sam, as most of the artwork and artifacts in the castle were at least a hundred years old, and both Tucker and Valerie were very well versed in their knowledge of all therein. Sam particularly liked meeting all the different spirit-like servants and household as they showed her many different bedrooms, some modeled after the spectrum and some not, the kitchens, the different studies and many other fascinating places. She had expressed some regret about not being able to see the grounds and gardens outside, but she did agree that it was probably too cold for her at the present time…they would have to do that another day. It was when they seemed to be wrapping up the tour that things got extremely interesting though.

Tucker and Valerie led a wide-eyed Sam into a huge chamber deep within the castle, a chamber that was draped in banners and streamers usually used for a celebration. But, everything was tattered and ancient looking, as if it hadn't been touched in not a hundred years. There was a thin layer of dust on the once pristine looking glass dance floor, and all the candelabras and chandeliers were covered in cobwebs. Sam turned around to look questioningly at a morose looking Tucker and an angry looking Valerie, a question forming on her lips, but answered before it was even voiced.

"This is the grand ball room," Tucker explained as he plastered on a cheery smile that wouldn't fool a child. "It, well, it hasn't been used in awhile…but it's got some wonderful art hanging around the walls, and also painted on the ceiling! It connects to nearly every wing in the castle as well…"

Tucker trailed off as he noticed Sam edging towards a darker looking staircase, and he rushed forward with Valerie to block the girl's pathway, a fearful look masked by an overly cheerful one. "We don't you come and look at some of the late baroque pieces, Sam? There's nothing of interest up in the master's quarters anyway."

"Oh…so that's where he lives," Sam answered with a devious smile forming on her face as she continued forwards, walking right through the spirits. "I wonder what he's got up there…" Valerie growled under her breath about her useless form and Tucker tried again, desperately, to avert the girl's attention somewhere else.

"Well, what about those lovely tapestries! They date all the way back to--"

"We could always go and look at the armory."

"Then there's the gallery!"

"You have an art gallery?" Sam asked as she turned around, a surprised smile on her face, noting the pure look of unadulterated relief on the other two faces.

"Yes! With loads of original artwork!"

"There are easels and plenty of paint for you to make your own with as well."

"And charcoal and oils!"

Sam began to follow the two as they quickly floated out of the ballroom, but stopped when they were far enough ahead and headed back up the stairs…a nursery rhyme of curiosity and how it was the downfall of a cat was nagging at the back of her mind, but she felt compelled to go up the stairs; it was as if something was calling to her. She climbed to the top of the staircase and began walking down a dark and deserted looking corridor, noting with a curious expression all the smashed objects and green goo that seemed to litter the hallway. She walked until a large double door barred her path, and reaching up, banishing the slight moment of trepidation she felt at just entering the Phantom's quarters uninvited, she pulled open one huge door with a mighty tug.

The Phantom's living area was even worse than the hallway leading up to it, everything broken or smashed, or getting there, and even more green goo seemed to glow faintly on the walls, only this time there were scorch marks as well. A torn up looking mural attracted her attention, and Sam walked over to a large, dirty looking canvas that had a picture of a family on it…a family that she barely make out beneath the grime. A pair of startling blue eyes smiled up at her from the picture though, belonging to some unidentifiable face, and Sam reached out to touch it…

A bright glow of violet flooded the room, and Sam whirled about to face a large window and balcony…and a small table that was very fine looking that had a glowing purple rose floating on top of it in a glass covering. Sam felt her breath catch as she looked at the flower that had been haunting her dreams for the past month and a half, down to the wilting petals and withering flower. She didn't remember moving to stand beside the table and rose, nor did she remember her arms lifting the glass covering off and one hand reaching towards to touch to glittering flower…

But she did remember two very upset looking green eyes glaring at her as a cold body pushed her away and recovered the flower, cradling it in a protective manner. The intensity that Phantom stared at her with made Sam cringe and back up violently when he took a step towards her…she was in trouble and she knew it. His hands seemed to be cackling with green energy and the air around him was warping into a small whirlwind, whipping her own hair around her terrified looking face; looks like the damn cat was about to lose another battle against curiosity tonight.

"What are you doing here?" Phantom all but hissed as a bolt of green energy zapped out from him and created another scorch mark on the wall, Sam's eyes widened further at the level of anger that was encompassing the young looking hybrid before her. "You're not welcome here!"

"I-I didn't mean…I just thought…"

"Get out!" he roared at her, waves of energy flowing with his voice as it let out an unearthly wail…she dashed from the room and down the hallway in fear and anger at being treated so horribly for just going into his room. She suddenly didn't care about the bargain she struck with him, it hardly mattered to keep her promise to that monster any longer, and she ran through the manor to the front doors, flinging them open and launching herself out into the cold, bitter air that surrounded the castle. She didn't even think to jump on Lillith in her fear and anger, just kept running past the gates and deep into the encompassing woods until her breath came in ragged gasps. She looked all around for some sort of hint as to how to get back…she didn't know whether she meant Amity Park or the castle.

That just confused her even more…why would she consider going back to a place where she was a prisoner and where she couldn't stand the master?

Because of his eyes…when they looked sad or confused rather than dead or angry.

She took a deep breath and turned around, intent on heading back down to the castle. Whether he was human or only halfway there, she would honor the promise she made him. She really shouldn't have invaded his privacy the way she did…she knew she would've been upset with him if he had done so to her. She didn't get far though, as a dark figure was standing in front of her on the path suddenly, a man whose eyes glowed crimson, like blood, and smiled cruelly, letting his fangs show through. Sam took a frightened gasp and took an involuntary step back as he cast his cloak over his shoulders and created two vicious looking magenta orbs in his hands, black hair arched over his head like a shark's fins and pale skin glowing in an unholy light.

"Ah…you are a pretty one, my dear," the being said in a smooth voice, one that sounded cultured and refined…but to cruel to ever be considered polite. "I can see why Phantom is so interested in you…and that's something I can't have. This is goodbye, my dear girl." He blasted those glowing orbs of energy before Sam could even think to dodge out of the way, her violet eyes going large in fear as the blasts got ever closer to her…

But they didn't hit…someone grabbed her around the waist and flung her out of the way before launching back towards the evil man…someone who had white hair and was glowing in a bright emerald color.

Sam gasped as she turned her head and locked eyes with the scene before her, Phantom was fighting the red-eyed man with ferocity and protectiveness that made that something in her stomach do flips…he was protecting her! She couldn't hear the words being bantered between the two obvious adversaries, but she could tell that neither liked what the other had to say…she wasn't at all disappointed when the cloaked man disappeared in a flash of pink, shooting one last dark look at her that made her eyes narrow in challenge. He surprised her once…she'd make sure that didn't happen again.

Phantom looked a mess, his clothing all torn up and green liquid leaking from various wounds…when he passed out, Sam was surprised to find how human he looked like that. She walked over and covered the young looking hybrid with her cloak, before helping him to his feet; she was surprised to find he hardly weighed anything, a scrap of a boy who acted like he was bigger. She smiled softly at the minor protest that formed and died on the boy's lips as she helped him limp back towards his castle; he really was adorable at the moment. Not that she'd ever tell him that…but maybe she could let herself believe it.

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"OW! You're hurting me!"

"Well maybe if you stop moving around like a two year old it wouldn't hurt as much!"

"You know, this wouldn't have even happened if you hadn't run away…you don't know anything about the woods around here!"

"Well, if you hadn't started hurling green bolts at me and wailing like a banshee, I wouldn't have run away!"

"I do NOT sound like a banshee…and besides, you shouldn't have even been in my room to begin with! I never gave you permission; how the hell would you feel if someone looked through all of your things!"

"Okay, I shouldn't have been in your room…but if you had tried to act even a little bit like a real person, maybe I wouldn't have felt so compelled to figure you out!"

"…you-you want to figure me out?"

"…well, sure. I am living with you after all…I don't think you're really all as bad as you pretend to be."

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't know…I just have this feeling."

"Oh."

…

…

"By the way, thank you, for saving my life." Violet eyes lift from their wrapping work on a bleeding arm and lock with surprised green ones.

"You're welcome. Thank you…you know, for coming back."

"Someone needs to keep you from attacking harmless travelers."

"I suppose so…"

…

…

…

Three pairs of eyes met and smiled at each other as they watched the scene between the two young adults from behind a wardrobe. It was very encouraging to say the least, to see the very fine line between hate and something else crossed…very encouraging indeed. Jazz smiled as she took Tucker's hand in her own and directed her eyes back to her baby brother as he regarded the slim maiden helping wrap his wounds with a curious expression…one that she hadn't seen in nearly a hundred years.

"Oh Tucker, I'm happy she came…I really am."

"Yeah…I guess I am too." He leaned over and kissed the red-head's cheek as he tightened his grip on her hand.

They had just crossed a huge bump in the road…hopefully there wouldn't be any more too come for the young adults. Unfortunately, they both knew that wasn't to be…Plasmius knew about the girl and would be sure to attack again. But for now, they didn't have to worry about that…they could just hope and watch a boy learn to be human and a girl learn about him.

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Again, you all are so awesome. Please keep up with the feedback! Let's get past a hundred reviews! More to come soon!

Osco


	5. Chapter Five

_**Withering (5?)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa…oh, and beware the fluff for this chapter!

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Five: _Learning to be Human_**

_She was running through a field, a large one that was covered in long grass and wildflowers. The sun wasn't out, or at least it was hidden behind a shroud of heavy clouds in the sky, and the eerie feel of the landscape made her wrap her arms around her slim frame as she looked back and forth for someone…anyone. She called out, not really sure what, just called and called, hoping to be heard…but no one came. She looked back at her surroundings and noticed that the grass was dying and the flowers wilting…the land was dying. She tried to keep back the tears that were stinging behind her eyes, not sure why she was getting upset in the first place, but one escaped and trailed down her pale cheek as she le tout a shuddering breath…she was alone._

…

…

…

_And then…a boy darted out from behind her, his messy black hair bouncing after him as he ran through the field, heedless of the wide eyed girl staring after him. He turned around and fixed vividly blue eyes on her before smiling and turning about to run again…he wanted her to follow him. She smiled and took off after him, enjoying the game they were playing, calling out for the unknown boy to slow down…we did that grin seem so familiar, like a long lost friend she had forgotten?_

_The field vanished and before she knew it, she was chasing after the blue-eyed boy in a dense forest, the smells of pine and dirt wafting up to meet her as she breathed deeply. She didn't know how long they continued to run, but she was still smiling when she found the boy stopped in a clearing, surrounded by the beautiful purple roses she had seen in her dreams; but the smile fell when he turned around and regarded her with sad eyes. Sam tried to step closer to him, but found her feet wouldn't move…she tugged but they remained motionless…he was crying for her! She looked back up and was met with another sight that took her breath away…_

_The boy was still there, but he no longer was alone; there was someone with him. Someone different, yet not, entwined in such a way that it was impossible to determine where one ended and the other began. Green and blue were mingled, as were white and black, and she found that she couldn't tear her eyes away from the tragically beautiful boy…and then the roses all withered away. The two, no one, set of eyes turned back to her and the being held up a hand, hands, out to her…begging her to take them, it, and lead him back out of the forest. _

_She could move again, and found herself walking forwards without nay further thought on the matter, until she was mere feet away from him. She lifted her hand, but hesitated in grasping his, theirs. She was scared and she didn't know why, scared to take the hands, hand, and condemn or save them both. She couldn't take the hand, hands, and she could only an unearthly wail shatter the quiet that encompassed them before everything went black…she was alone again. She cried out in denial and frustration, but none could hear…she was alone…_

_Alone…_

…

…_alone…_

Sam stared awake with a slight gasp, sitting straight as a board in the large bed and clutching the twisted and tossed sheets to her heaving chest. It took her a moment to calm down enough to realize that she was awake, and the forest was just a dream, a strange and vivid dream, but one nonetheless. She shook her head and climbed out of bed, there was sunlight poking through the bottom of her drapes anyway, Jazz would be in soon to wake her up any minute. Sam stretched her arms and back in a move slightly reminiscent of a cat before opening the doors to her vast closet and picking out what to wear for the day.

It was funny, she had never really cared about styles before, but that was mainly because her mother tried to force _her_ style down the young woman's throat…it was nice that everything here for her was tailored with her in mind. She smirked as she imagined her mother's reaction as she grabbed a pair of black pants, complemented with black boots, a dark blue and white bodice with a white blouse underneath and a blue ribbon to pull back her hair…she was dressing like a man and loving every minute of it. It was nice that the denizens of the castle didn't seem to mind much…but then again, Valerie stomped around in her armor all day, so they were probably used to it.

She took a quick shower and dressed herself after drying out her hair halfway, using the fluffy white towel to finish the job after she was clothed. It was only after she had brushed her hair, staring out the window at the light snowfall outside, light enough to gently cover the ground in pure white, that she marveled inwardly how accustomed she had become to life here…away from her family in Amity Park. True, she had not started that way, in fact she had downright hated it here at first, but that melted into acceptance and then into a comfortable sense of belonging she had never felt in the city. She tied the ribbon loosely in her dark hair, making sure the bow was hidden at the nape of her neck, and made her way out of her room and down the stairs for breakfast.

As she descended, Sam reflected that it was mainly due to the Phantom that she now enjoyed her time here and hardly viewed it as an imprisonment anymore. He hadn't exactly been very kind when she had first came, but then again, neither had she…it was inevitable that they would butt heads and get on each other's nerves. But…that initial dislike had melted in just a casual indifference, and then had melted further into a budding friendship…he really was very funny when he chose to be.

The problem with Phantom was something that Sam had realized not even a week ago, nearly three months after her fateful decision to take her father's place in the enchanted manor (something that the denizens still vehemently denied…did they really think she was that dense?). The problem with Phantom was that he had forgotten what it was like to be human…he had sunken so far into the half of him that was dead and had buried the half that felt long ago. And she knew why…facing years of rejection and revulsion was bound to do horrible things to someone who looked as young as he did, not a day older than she. It was no wonder he was so cold…a comfortable state of numbness where words and looks didn't hurt you on the outside.

His eyes gave him away though…they were what made her unafraid of him in the first place…so full of pain and uncertainty. And a quiet grief that was coupled with hopelessness she couldn't quite place.

So, after she and the Phantom had overcome their differences that night he had rescued her from the strange and evil looking man in the forest, she had vowed to get him to smile again. He wasn't quite there yet, and they still fought on a daily basis, but the words had changed and it became something that they enjoyed doing. Most friendly banter was just a civilized and playful argument after all.

Sam finished her descent and walked towards the kitchens, waving to the ghost-like servants she passed on her way and flashing them a smile. She had thought it strange to be the only living, breathing being in the castle, but she had gotten over that quickly…mainly because she was happy Tucker no longer overshadowed a lamp whenever he came to see her. It was strange talking to ghosts…but it was downright creepy talking to talking lamps, books, and swords. She pushed open the doors to the dining room wide after she walked through the kitchen area, glancing around at the other occupants already there. Jazz was talking quietly with Tucker in the corner, devotion and love practically leaking from them as they gave each other gooey-eyes. She smirked at the memory of catching them in their 'secret' romance…it had been humorous to see Tucker whine at that high an octave as he begged her not to say anything to the Phantom. Valerie was standing off a little to the side, polishing her foggy sword and humming a song under her breath, and Kwan, the loveable, if not slightly stupid, knight was conversing with one of the serving maids…Star if she remembered correctly.

Sam smiled at everyone as they noticed her sit down before hurrying off to pretend like they were doing something else other than spying on her and Phantom eating…she didn't know why the spied, but they did. As she waited for Phantom to show, who was always late, no matter how late she arrived, Sam began to reflect on the strange dream she had that night…it had seemed so real. She hadn't got a good look at the boy's face, but his eyes…they were just so, so deep. She felt as if she was falling into them…was it possible to be attracted to a figment of her imagination so much? She was saved from having to answer her own awkward question as she felt that sudden rush of cold sweep into the room; Phantom was here.

Sam smirked at the green-eyed half-ghost, or halfa as she heard others around the castle call him, acknowledged her with short head inclination…and she thought she was a night owl. "Sleep well?"

"Fantastic…I take it you did as well," Phantom replied in his monotone voice as he seated himself in the opposite chair from her, not really asking her, just stating.

"Aside from a strange dream, I did," Sam replied with a teasing grin as she poured some of the newly served milk into her warm oatmeal, shooting him a glare when he didn't touch anything at first. "You really should eat…you're skinny enough as it is."

"I don't need to eat," was the reply, coupled with an equally powerful look.

"Do you ever do things just to do them?" Sam asked immediately as she grabbed a biscuit form the basket on the table. "You don't always have to eat because the body needs it…you can just do it because you want to."

"I am aware of that…I just don't see the point."

"Is that so?"

"Yes…why are you so inquisitive this morning?"

"Like I said, I had a good night's sleep. And you're not getting out of eating that easily…it's not going to kill you, you know."

The Phantom gave her another glare, one that lacked any real ire before sighing heavily and grabbing a biscuit, eating it slowly as she finished her meal. He ate it all when she fixed another look at him when he tried to toss it under the table, giving a thumb's up to show her, mockingly mind you, how good it was.

"You know, whenever you don't eat, it's like you're condemning your cooks to a life of boredom." Phantom rolled his eyes at the violet-eyed girl's words.

"They find other things to do," he replied wit an eye-roll to the ceiling, as if imploring some higher aid to shut her up…that just caused Sam's smirk to widen further.

"But not what they want to do."

"You can't always get what you want."

"Oh, so because you don't act on your impulses, you make everyone else suffer?"

"That's not what I said!"

"But, it's what you implied."

"I don't have the effort for this in the morning…"

Sam let out a peal of laughter at the bemoaned lament, and the Phantom's snowy head burying itself in his arms on the table. The laughter turned into near guffaws of mirth when he shot her annoyed look from in between his two folded arms, and he harrumphed as he sat back up, crossing his arms in front if him and shooting her a pout that was absolutely adorable. She rose from her chair, still shaking slightly from her laughter, and hurried over to him, grabbing his hands and dragging him out of the room, disregarding his protests…

And not noticing how his eyes widened at her grip on his hands with her own.

"Wh-where are you going?" Phantom asked in a confused tone as the petite girl continued to drag him through the main foyer and then through the entryway, pausing only to answer him with a devilish smile right in front of the main doorway.

"WE are going outside…and it's for no better reason than to play in the snow like a couple of toddlers!"

She pushed open the door with a slight push (one that made her suspicious that Jazz, Tucker, or Valerie was tailing them) and dragged the snowy-haired boy outside, letting go of his hand and running out into the white slush, stomping into the snow with a crunch. She whipped around and smiled at the still shocked Phantom standing, not floating she noticed with satisfaction, in a snow-bank and looking around like he hadn't the faintest idea of what to do. Sam grinned evilly to herself as she bent down and scooped up a handful of snow in her hands, ignoring the cold seeping into her bare hands as she cupped it into a ball…and then hurled it at the green-eyed boy, hitting him square in the chest. She had already ducked down and started forming another one as he looked over at her with a wide open mouth in surprise; he let out an 'oof' as the next snowball hit him on the side of the head, knocking him flat on his rear in the snow.

Sam waved at him as she ducked behind a tree to avoid the snowball he hurled back at her, sticking her tongue out playfully when he missed and she hit him with another one…it really was too easy, but way too much fun to give up. They both continued with the game for a moment, she with a smile and he with an intense look of concentration on his face….one that she intended to flip into a smile by the time they were done. She helped him make a snowman, and then marveled at him when he flew off and then came back with her cloak, handing it to her as he looked away and mumbled something about, "I hate sick people."

He was so cute when he tried to act like an asshole…

Wait, did she just think he was cute? Uhm…well, she couldn't really deny it…best to ignore and come back to later.

She didn't know how much longer she and the Phantom stayed outside, just wasting time in the snow, but eventually Jazz came out and beckoned them inside while they were in the middle of an intense snow castle competition, one that Sam was winning by the way. Phantom scowled at his sister before returning to his architecture, trying to save one of his badly built towers from collapsing on top of itself, and gave Sam a weird look when she dropped down beside him and guided his hands to correct his mistake. After she finished and hurried inside tow arm up her hands from the numbness spreading through them from the snow, she didn't notice the small smile cross the boy's face as he watched her hurry inside…she only caught the remnants of it in a smirk when she turned around and motioned him in as well.

"So," she asked as he led her into the study and the huge fire warming the room. "How was acting without a purpose? Pretty wild, uh?"

"Actually…it kind of was," Phantom replied as he opened the door and seated himself beside the slight girl in front of the fire, a bemused look on his face as he thought about it…it had felt nice just not doing anything for any reason…just doing it. "At least, it was for me…I'm sure that sounds trite to you but--"

"No it doesn't," Sam interrupted with a small smile sent his way as she studied his face in the firelight and how it seemed to glow even more than it usually did. "It takes courage to do something you've been avoiding for so long…thanks for trusting me enough to go along with me."

He gave her a slight inclination of his head as he stared into the fire, his thoughts drifting off in every direction and his long thought frozen heart filling with something unknown and thrilling as he glanced back at the violet-eyed maiden, and how the firelight made her eyes that much brighter. He didn't know what inspired him to ask what he did, but he felt almost compelled to; he was compelled to have this different and wonderful girl keep treating hi as if he was fully alive instead of only halfway there.

"Sam?" he asked with an uncustomary edge of nervousness in his voice, locking his green eyes with those purple ones. "Do you think you could…I mean, I'd like it if you didn't call me Phantom."

"What do you want to be called then?" she asked with a strangely knowing look in her eyes, as if she already knew the answer and was just waiting for him to confirm it for her.

"Well…my name. I mean, I'd like you to call me by my name…and that's…my name's Danny or, Danny Fenton if you want to get technical," he fumbled as he shot her a hopeful look that set his eyes on fire.

"Danny…all right, Danny it is," Sam replied with a smile as she nudged him with her shoulder, not really knowing what compelled her to do so. "I've actually known that was your name for awhile…Tucker let it slip one day while trying to get me to come down for dinner…"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, you hadn't asked me to," Sam replied with a shrug as she gave him a sideways look. "I figured it was private…I wanted you to tell me, to trust me enough. And, I'm happy that you have…maybe you're not so 'monstrous' as you pretend to be after all."

The last part was spoken in a teasing tone, but Phantom, no, Danny, couldn't help but see the truth in her words…maybe he still was human after all. He smiled softly at her before directing his gaze back into the flames, reflecting that he was lucky that he had found this wonderful girl that he…that he felt something for. He didn't know that the girl beside him was just thankful to finally see that gorgeous smile that reminded her of something familiar…like a long lost friend or something from a dream.

_He turned around and fixed vividly blue eyes on her before smiling and turning about to run again…he wanted her to follow him_

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Shorter, I know, but I don't have that much time, and wanted to give you guys something…I just cut out some extraneous fluff is all . Thanks to everyone who's giving me so much feedback and encouragement! I love you all…please keep my muses fed and keep it up ! More to come soon!

Osco


	6. Chapter Six

_**Withering (6?)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa…oh, and beware the fluff for this chapter!

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Six: _Gifts and Curses_**

The town was quaint, small enough to know everyone's business yet large enough to avoid being classified as a farming town, and there was color everywhere. He paused his trek of Amity Park and admired the window of a blacksmith's shop, the way the moonlight sparkled against the many blades and swords present therein…he could think of a dozen ways to use those beautiful tools that would make a mortal shudder. He smiled to himself and continued down into town, a specific goal in mind with a specific purpose lodged in his black heart.

He'd be damned if one skinny little wench would ruin a hundred year's hard work.

He paused outside the local tavern, a dingy hovel labeled "Thee Nasty Brew" and checked his glamour in a shop's window before heading in; it wouldn't do to be seen in his true skin by these townsfolk when he had a need for them still. He smiled as his reflection, noting the blue eyes covering the red and the silver hair masking the black…and his skin had color to it rather than the pallor hue it usually took on as its own. Yes, he looked every bit a rich nobleman or merchant who was pausing in this little hamlet for a quick respite, and he would help those inside find someone they deemed missing out of the generosity in his heart.

He pushed open the tavern doors and cast one quick look around the rowdy pub to locate his most useful pawn…someone with no brains and a lot of influence who wouldn't take kindly to a 'monster' courting one of the maidens of his homeland. His thin lips smirked as his cold gaze settled on a young, burly blonde man surrounded by other moronic looking fellows…he was perfect. He smiled at the bartender and ordered a small glass of red wine as he sat himself close to the group so he could hear, but not close enough to be seen as eavesdropping; this was turning out to be an entertaining and productive evening thus far.

"…gone crazy, I tell you! Raving about some undead, uh, thing in a castle and all other nonsense! He should be put away in a crazy house before he goes completely wacko!"

"Yeah!"

"You said it, Dash!"

"Of course I'm right…I'm me, after all!"

Yes…he would do just perfectly.

"…shame that his daughter just disappeared though, she was a pretty thing!"

"But, she turned you down, Dash! Why would you want to marry her?"

"Yeah…you've got Paulina after you. I'd kill for that kind of luck!"

"It's not luck, I'm just that good-looking!"

The man smiled again into his drink after several more minutes of the conversation, savoring the sweet but strong taste of the wine he had ordered as he listened in on the inane chatter spoken between the lads. He knew of the man they were discussing, and he knew who the daughter was…now all that remained was to enslave a brainless buffoon to do his dirty work and remove the girl from the prince's keep. For some reason, he didn't think he'd have all that much trouble in doing so.

He swiveled about in his chair, his red cloak swishing around with him, and he focused his masked gaze onto the youth once more. He was quite tall and muscular, with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes that were colored with arrogance and a smug grin that bordered on that of stupidity. He was dressed in finery befitting an official's son and seemed to have much of the pub enamored with him due to his good-looks and money…this was almost too easy. He let the smirk drop off his face and adopted a more compassionate expression as he set down his half empty glass and began to make his way over to the group and their leader. After all, he had more to lose than just a slave in this gamble should he not manage to convince the boy, Dash, to his plan…

He would not lose his love again…this time he was sure of it.

"Excuse me," he interjected into the conversation, drawing not only the youths' gazes towards him, but many of those in the pub as well. He tucked a few loose tendrils from his ponytail aside and focused his cold, blue gaze on the tall blonde once more. "I couldn't help but overhearing your plight…and the plight of this town. It seems as if a young maiden has been kidnapped and her father left mad in her place…sounds to me as the work of an evil spirit or some such."

He paused his narrative and smiled inwardly at the ripple of murmurs and whispers that swept through the tavern at the thought…nothing riled up townsfolk like a good fable come to life that could eat up their children in the night. Dash looked at him with a confused look on his face before drawing his features together in a scowl and demanding, "How do you know about that weirdo stuff, old man!"

"Why, I have seen my fair share of strange and unexplainable things, my boy," the man replied with false wariness infused with his tone to make some listeners cringe at the thought of what he may have seen. "I have traveled much in my lifetime, and this sounds like the work of some sort of horrid monster, or spirit, who could very well prey upon your whole village if you give it the chance!"

Another pause…even more murmuring and some hysteric cries of fear now made him laugh softly before adopting the helpful look once more. "There is time to save this maiden, I assure you, but it will take a massive effort on your part to do so…and also to rid the lands of the evil being haunting here! Trust me; it is always safer to take of a problem when it begins rather than when it is out of control…if you wait, it will be ten maidens instead of one!"

"We can't let that happen!"

"Our children need to be protected!"

"Our lands will go to ruin should we stand and be idle!"

"Okay old man," Dash spoke above the din that had broken out, and arched eyebrow and greedy look in his eyes as he appraised the silver-haired man and all his finery gave away. Or showed off…depending on what the purpose was. "Say that I get my father to go along with this idea…what's in it for me?"

"Why, you can have your fair lady once more," the man replied with a grin that made him look sinister…but the lad didn't seem to mind much. Either that or he was just too thick to notice. "And whatever riches you may find the fiend has horded away in his castle…I have no need for such trivial things in my old age."

"What's in it for you?" Ah, so he wasn't completely daft…that was a little comforting. After all, his adversary wasn't daft either; she was very intelligent by the looks of things.

"Only that you'll leave the spirit or monster to me," he answered smoothly with a red flicker spiriting across his eyes for a split second, revealing his true form for a moment as he thought of the ways he would make the prince pay for his insolence of being born. Luckily, the lad was only a step above being daft, so he didn't notice the spark as anything but a trick of light in the tavern. "I have…unfinished business with one of these fiends…and the one attacking your poor town may be the one I've been searching for."

"How do we find out if it is or not?" Dash asked as he waved his cronies away to mingle and sing his praises to the crowd.

"By asking the father who has returned with slightly less mental astuteness…meaning, who's 'wacko.' I'm afraid I am unfamiliar with this town though…I do not know of the maiden who was taken or her family."

"That'd be William Manson," Dash answered with a smug grin once more. "he's been ranting and raving about some 'ghost boy' he saw in a castle a few months past…he claimed his daughter now is prisoner as well, surrendering herself for his safety. He doesn't live that far from here…do you wanna see him?"

"Please lead the way," the silver-haired man answered with a polite grin as he swept his cloak around and followed the blonde out of the pub. "Just from the description you've given me, I do believe this is the same spirit I have been looking for."

"Hey, old man," Dash asked after the pair had left the pub and the youth had hailed down his carriage. "You never told me your name…"

"Ah yes, silly me," the silver man replied with a grin and a look of something, unearthly, glowing in his eyes as he glanced over at the boy. "I forgot in my excitement…my name is Vladimir Masters…but please, call me Vlad."

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Sam woke up that morning to the sounds of crashing and yelling…a normal alarm clock for the past four she had came to stay at the Fenton Manor. She stretched her arms over her heard and arched her back in a cat like way before clambering out of bed, not caring one whit whether it was graceful or not. The crashing and yelling was her signal that Tucker had come across Valerie doing her morning exercises (which usually included sword swipes that could cut through the walls and such) in the middle of his garden again…and they had progressed to throwing things at each other. By the time she was finished washing and dressing for the day, all of which she could finish in her usual twenty minute routine (as opposed to her mother's three hour schedule), they were usually broken apart by Jazz or Kwan in an effort to keep Danny asleep a little longer.

She smiled inwardly at the thought of a grouchy Danny yelling, or wailing to be more accurate, at the two to be quiet before pouting and floating back into his quarters. He really was a big softie once the cold exterior was brought down…and downright adorable sometimes.

Sam felt her cheeks heat up at her current train of thought and she hurriedly showered and got ready for the day. There was no need to go into such complicating thoughts so early in the morning…she had to wait until she was at least coherent enough to answer them logically. She dried her hair with a towel and picked out a simple outfit for the day: a flowing dark green camisole and dark brown breeches to match along with soft leather boots and a thin, light green cloak in case it got to warm outside. The cold weather outside had began to subside for the spring already…it was hard to believe that she had become so accustomed to life here in the enchanted castle to really take to much notice.

Of course, there were other _possible _reasons as to why she was relaxed and happy here…but again, it was much too early to think about hose things now. Tying a simple green ribbon through her hair to keep the flowing black locks away from her face, Sam made her way out of her chambers and subsequent quarters and down towards the dining hall for breakfast…food would help jumpstart her brain a little. She couldn't help that she was meant to be a night owl…daytime just didn't suit her.

Sam yawned as she pushed open the doors to the large dining hall, muttering good mornings and flashing smiles at those sent her way as she sat down at her customary seat and waited for the others to arrive. They did shortly after, Valerie in her armor and Tucker with his arm looped through Jazz's own, smiling at her in a dazed way that made Sam prickle slightly in jealousy. It wasn't that she had feelings for Tucker, because she didn't beyond the love one feels for a sibling or dear friend, but she was jealous of what those two had…the deep love they shared. She was so happy for them, even if she thought it silly for them to hide their relationship from Danny…okay, for Tucker to hide the relationship from Danny as Jazz really didn't care how her brother would react.

No, it wasn't really jealousy for their relationship…she was envious because she wanted something like that. She had never really thought about it too much back in Amity Park, or even in her old home in the city, but seeing the two of them, so obviously head over heels for each other…it made her want something. The problem was…she didn't know who she wanted. She propped her head on her chin and narrowed her purple eyes slightly as she began to finally concentrate on what had been bugging her since that morning. The perplexing dilemma of what she felt for the acerbic Danny Phantom (as she had taken to calling him once she saw how t made the usually unflappable halfa blush) and what she felt for the mysterious boy who continued to plague her dreams.

No, the dreams had never really gone away…if anything, they intensified with each passing night, often leaving her with a head ache in the middle of the night before she could fall back asleep. And they were always the same…and that boy with the beautiful blue eyes would always call for her, only to disappear after she couldn't take hold of his double hands…every time she thought of this dream boy, she felt something flutter inside her and warm her up. It was an incredible feeling…but she couldn't help but acknowledge that he wasn't real; at least, he didn't seem to be, but her heart sang differently.

Now, while she most definitely had strong feelings of affection, mayhap even love, for the boy in her dreams, she also was beginning to feel for Danny Phantom with every day she spent with him, helping him learn what it meant to be human again and enjoy life, no matter how short or long it may be. She had been surprised at first, she had always thought of the cold but shy Phantom to be quite handsome in an ethereal kind of way, but when she started to really _feel_ as well…well that just made things complicated. She didn't know who she cared for more, or who she should care for in the first place…all that she knew was that she was running out of time for some odd reason. Maybe if she could just focus hard enough, she could figure out why she—

"Penny for your thoughts, Sam?" a cheerful voice asked from besides her, shocking the dark-haired girl out of her inner thoughts and back into the present. The red-headed girl fixed her with a seemingly knowing look with those glowing turquoise eyes and Sam smiled softly back at her as she gave a small wave at Danny as he floated in.

"Nothing to waste a penny on," Sam replied as she smiled fully at the half grin she received from the snowy-haired boy in return before he began speaking with Tucker in hushed and hurried tones that she couldn't make out. "But I do have a question for you, when are you and Tuck just going to tell your brother that you're together? I really don't think he's going to flip or anything…at least, no more so than usual."

"Well, I wished we had told him ages ago," Jazz replied as she brushed her hair away from her face and shot a small glare at the bespectacled boy. "But Tucker was funny about it…said he didn't want to get skewered or something. Granted, when we finally did admit our feelings for one another, my brother wasn't in the best of places emotionally."

"After the spell was put on everyone, uh?" Sam asked with a wink…everyone hated it when she brought up the fact she knew the castle was under a spell. She just didn't know what for, or who did it…and no one seemed ready to volunteer that information, even after four months of living here.

"I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about, Sam," Jazz replied with a mock-haughty expression before dissolving into small peals of laughter that caused Valerie to raise her eyebrow at them for a second before returning to her porridge. "But, I do want to tell you that you're in for a treat today."

"What…did you refurnish that pink room black like I told you all too," Sam quipped in response, her lilac eyes twinkling in curiosity at the other girl's amused expression…why did it seem like everyone here seemed in on a joke except her?

"No…but I can't tell you, it's a surprise," Jazz finished with a wink before phasing out of the room.

"I'm so tired of them just going through the floor when they don't want to answer a question," Sam said aloud to herself before turning about to face Danny, taking note of the uncharacteristic light in his usually dull green eyes. That's strange…he's actually excited about something; maybe they really did paint that room and juts aren't telling her. "So, Jazz tells me that I'm in for a surprise today…any chance of you telling me what?"

"That would be cheating," Danny replied with a small grin before taking her hands in his cold ones and turning them both intangible.

"Is it possible that you just made a joke, good sir?" Sam asked with an arched eyebrow as they went through several walls and doorways before turning tangible again in an older looking hallway…she'd never seen this part of the castle before. Most would think it was strange that she had lived somewhere for four months and had never seen this wing…but those people didn't comprehend just how large the manor was.

Danny didn't deign her with an answer, just a shake of his head and a slightly wider smile as he continued to lead her down the hallway, his cold hands, something she didn't mind all that much, holding hers all the way. Sam gave him a look when they stopped outside a pair of double doors at the end of the hallway, ornately designed to look like vines and flowers were actually growing on the white doors from top to bottom, but he just smirked at her in return.

"Before we go any further," he said in a tone that almost sounded childish to Sam's ears, those green eyes alight with a playful fire she had only seen a few times before. "I need you to do something for me."

"And what, pray tell, is that, Mr. Phantom?" Sam asked with a grin…she could play along with him just as well.

"Close your eyes."

Sam gave him another one of those looks that said, "You're an idiot" but complied with him anyway, closing her eyes and letting him tug her by the hands into the room, the sound of the doors creaking open her only sign that they were inside. She felt her body tugged another two dozen feet or so before he halted her and the hands, which had been comforting in their coldness, left and she felt strangely bereft of comfort…funny, wasn't warmth usually associated with comfort? Oh well, she never was a warm and sunny kind of person anyway.

"Can I open them now?" she asked with a slightly annoyed edge to her tone…she didn't enjoy being left to dangle like she had been.

"Not yet," she heard his voice shout down, followed by the sensation of sunlight hitting her from all angles…he was opening the window curtains.

"Now?"

A moment's pause…then… "All right, now."

Sam blinked her violet eyes open slowly to adjust to the sudden brightness that assaulted them but then couldn't help but widen them as she looked around her. She was surrounded b dozens of magnificently drawn paintings and sketches of all types, from paints and watercolors to charcoals and oils, they were all here. She had never seen such a huge gallery in her entire life, not even when living in the city had they been so large! She must have le tout some sort of excited noise because she heard him ask if she liked it…of course she like it!

She walked around, well ran is the more correct term, the oval room, pausing at a painting she found particularly good, and paused when she came to an area overlooking one of her favorite gardens. An area that had nothing but easels and painting supplies. She let out a gasp and whirled around to fix her bright smile on the now chuckling Phantom…funny, it was the first time she had seen him laugh. "I love it!"

"Then you can use it whenever you wish…it's actually not hard to get to from your quarters," Danny replied, now sobered up after being caught in the act of laughing. "Tucker told me you enjoyed drawing and such…I thought you might like this place to, well, remind you of your old life and such."

"Thank you so much!" she squealed in a very uncharacteristic way, rushing over to hug the halfa tight before she even comprehended what she was doing and then hurrying back over to the fresh easels. She slipped on a dirty looking smock and grabbed some of the colored oils before seating herself at an easel that overlooked the gardens. She flashed another grin at the green eyed boy as he hovered near her, legs crossed underneath his slim body and watching her with a curious and open expression. "I can't tell you what I'm painting…it ruins the whole thing."

"That's fine…can I see it afterward?" Sam wondered what prompted the shy half of the boy to be so prominent today…he was acting so unsure of himself when he usually sweated off confidence.

"Sure," Sam answered with a grin before she returned her attention back to her blank canvas…she already knew what she wanted to paint. She started with the trees and forests first, a large moon hanging high in the sky, smearing the oils when necessary to create shadows or reflections. Then she drew what looked dozens upon dozens of purple flowers…all surrounding a boy in the middle who was split in two, using green and blue to color him. It had been months since she had drawn anything…it was nice to finally get her dream on canvas where she could really see it.

She looked up and noticed the sun was dipping low in the sky…she didn't know she had been here all day! She had moved around a lot for new oils or a fine brush to work in the details but…time seemed to just fly by her. She looked over where Danny was still hovering, staring out the window with a serene look on his face, something that made her breath hitch in her throat and those damn butterflies return again. He looked beautiful like that, like something not really a part of this world…and he had been waiting for her this whole time, not voicing one complaint.

"I'm…I'm done," Sam said in a quiet voice so not to startle him too much.

"I know…I was just thinking," Danny replied as he turned his glowing green eyes back to her. He lowered his legs and walked over to look at her painting properly and Sam was near enough that she didn't miss the gasp he inhaled when he looked at what she made. "Where did you…what is…how did…"

'I've been dreaming this over and over for months," Sam clarified as she pushed some loose tendrils of her dark hair away from her face. "It's always the same…I can't see who the boy in the middle is, but he reminds me of someone I know, or knew. I don't know…sometimes it helps to just draw it down so I can see it."

"My-my mother used to do that," Danny said after a moment of silence…Sam whipped around to focus her violet orbs on his wide green ones. This was the first time he had even mentioned his parents… "She used to paint the things she saw in dreams or just during the day all the time…she said it helped her understand the world."

"That sounds about right," Sam replied softly with a smile as she put or brushes and tools away and took off the smock. "I was always drawing at home, my mother never really approved though…said it wasn't 'lady like' or some other nonsense. You know, I used to dream about your castle too…and that purple rose you keep in your room, the one that's dying…I used to draw those too, but I never really understood those until now…"

"What about them?"

"It was so I could find you," Sam replied with a slight blush before she ducked her face away and began walking out of the chamber…Jazz was probably trying to prevent tucker from having a hernia in worry over the two of them about now. "I mean, you obviously needed help from someone, and maybe something knew that I could help. That doesn't really make nay sense, does it?"

"I think it makes perfect sense," Danny replied with a still dazed look on his face. "After all, it would be somewhat hypocritical of me to refute your disbelief in that when I'm half ghost."

Sam laughed aloud and nodded her agreement as the two made their way back towards her quarters so she could change for dinner. It was a comfortable silence between them, both just enjoying the other's presence, whether consciously or unconsciously, by their side. It wasn't until they were outside her door that the silence was broken…with a bold statement that carried with it the hope for something more and the fear of rejection.

"Sam?" Danny asked in that unsure way that had plagued him all day, stopping to face Sam directly, purple meeting green. "I was wondering…well, Jazz has been nagging me for awhile to hold some sort of ball in the ballroom, and I was wondering if you'd, I mean, if you want to…"

"Sure," Sam answered for him with a bright smile. "I'd like that."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Oh…okay then," Danny responded with a surprised look on his face before he turned and walked down the hall to let Sam enter her dressing room. Sam could practically see the skip in his floating walk…it was cute. "Oh, it'd be tomorrow night…id that too soon?" he asked as he turned around for a second.

"That's fine, and Danny?" Sam called out as he started to float away again, smiling at him as he turned around to face her with a question on his face. "You should laugh more often." He gave her a smile and a nod before he floated through the floor and disappeared, leaving Sam to enter her chambers with a laugh.

"They always sink through the damn floor when they don't want to respond to something!"

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Next up, the infamous dance scene! But, I have a huge paper due in two weeks and an oral presentation due in Spanish around the same time…I'm going to be swamped, so expect a little later for the next update! Thanks to everyone who's reviewing and reading! You guys are seriously so awesome! Let's please keep it up so my uses feel loved! More to come soon!

Osco


	7. Chapter Seven

_**Withering (7/?)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Seven: _Fairy Dance_**

Sam wasn't sure how this whole ball extravaganza was supposed to go, but she sincerely hoped it would be different from the ones her mother always dragged her too; at least Dash Baxter wouldn't be at this one, Sam thought with a grin as she waited for one of the handmaidens to finish picking out a dress. Normally, she wouldn't let anyone but her pick out her clothing, but as she had no idea how to dress to a ball in an enchanted castle, she decided it was in her best interest to accept some inside help this time. Sam poked her head around the corner of her rather large closet to see if the young girl was any closer to finalizing her outfit for the night…it was starting to get late and, while she was already bathed, she still had hair to do. The young girl, around her own age at one time rather than the floating ghost she now was, with long blonde hair and wide green eyes seemed to have been reading Sam's mind because seconds later she emerged with an armful of clothing.

"I see you were successful, Star," Sam said with a smile as the ghost-like girl floated over to the bed and set down the dark fabrics so not to wrinkle them. Sam walked over to examine the clothing herself, and found that Star had seemed to anticipate her own style and had picked articles accordingly. Star had chosen a flowing dark violet gown with a white bodice, lavender laces crisscrossing, with faint lavender flowers entwining along the white fabric. Along with the dress was a pair of violet slippers that glimmered in the light and a white cloak with the same color violet stitching a rose on the back, should she decide to head out in the still chill, early spring time night. Sam couldn't help but smile as she touched the silken fabric, delicate yet resilient to the touch, and she found herself enjoying the ball before it had even begun. Who'd known she would actually look forward to wearing a dress?

"I take it you approve, Lady Sam?" Star laughed in her high tenor voice as she floated over to the dark-haired girl and began helping her disrobe out of her camisole and black trousers.

"It's beautiful…and I don't even like dresses," Sam said with a smirk as she let the handmaiden slip on the dress and proceed to lace the bodice up tight to accentuate the petite girl's slender frame. The dress fit her like a second skin once it was laced up completely, flowing around her like a violet river as she did an experimental twirl for the blonde's sake.

"Lady Jazz did hope you would approve," Star responded with a small and triumphant smile as she finished adjusting the dress and stepped back to admire her handiwork. "She had the seamstresses make this especially for you once she heard you were all right with the idea of a ball. You look wonderful, Lady Sam! I'm sure that Master Phantom will think so too…oh! I almost forgot…"

Sam watched with a small frown of puzzlement as the blonde bustled over to the closet once more and emerge with a small, black box with a cat-like grin. "What's that?"

"Well, the Master wanted to express his thanks that you agreed to the ball, Lady Sam," Star said with a smile as she opened the box and pulled out a small, but exquisitely crafted rose pendant, the same color violet as her eyes and fastened on a silver chain. "And since we all know how terrible he is with words, he opted to give you this as thanks…it was his mother's when she was a girl, I've heard."

"His mother's?" Sam asked as the blonde girl hooked the necklace around her neck so that it dangled to just below her clavicle. "I can't take it then…I mean it's not even mine and what if she wants it back?"

"You misunderstand," Star replied with a tiny laugh before leading the stunned girl over to the vanity and sitting her down to begin combing through her dark locks. "It used to be his mother's, but she gave it to Master Phantom when he was younger, as a gift to give to someone who was special to him. So, it actually is a gift from both the Master and his Lady mother, don't feel wrong about wearing it."

Sam couldn't find words to respond to the blonde who was weaving purple and white ribbons through her hair as she fingered the small purple rose in the mirror…as a gift for someone special? It sounded almost like…like a token of affection that was given to someone during courtship. Sam felt something stir inside her breast at the thought…something warm that traveled up to her face and something fluttering that drifted down to her stomach at the thought. It was short-lived though, as confusion set in right after that warm feeling made her smile…she was still so torn on who she really cared about: the unknown human boy in her dream, or the floating half dead one in reality. Her violet eyes met their reflection in the mirror and she couldn't find an answer in their depths.

Was it possible to care for both young men? Care for them both so much she questioned if one was love or not…problem was she didn't know which one that feeling belonged to. She sent a look upwards, complete with a glare, as she asked why it had to be when she actually fell for someone, it had to be so confusing and complicated. She felt the elation for the ball start to dwindle as her emotions ran haywire through her mind; it was creating a headache behind her eyes…she needed to not focus on this. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she willed those thoughts to the back of her mind, thought only of the here and now…nothing out of the ordinary was going through her head…

"Lady Sam?" Star asked, breaking the dark-haired girl away from her musings and looking up sharply at the girl through the mirror. "Are you all right? You seemed, distressed."

"I'm fine," Sam said with a gentle smile before she looked back at her reflection in the mirror, successfully distracting her mind from troubling thoughts as she surveyed Star's handiwork on her appearance. Her hair tumbled down around her shoulders and back, weaved through intricately with shimmering ribbons that matched her dress, and she had a small amount of shimmer on her lips colored a light lavender color. She smiled and grabbed a purple powder she used to dust over her eyes, followed by black liner the outline her eyes dramatically. All in all, she didn't look half bad, a little gothic but that was just her personality, and she turned and smiled at Star before rising and heading back over to her bed for the slippers.

"Oh, my Lady," Star breathed with a happy grin, bouncing up and down in the air as she looked at the beautiful maiden before her…none in the castle had seen her in anything but boys clothes with her hair pulled back…it was an amazing transformation! "You look so very beautiful…you are sure to have fun at the ball!"

"Are you not going?" Sam asked as she began to leave, no doubt to meet either Valerie or Jazz…she didn't know where the main ball chamber was after all, having been there only once before.

"Oh, we'll all be there," Star said with a wink as she pushed the human girl out of her door to be met with a red-haired Jazz, dressed in a russet gown with a yellow bodice. "But I doubt you'll see us…have fun!"

Sam didn't have any further chance to respond as she was soon ushered away by a grinning princess, hurried deep into the inner workings of the vast manor. Sam didn't feel the need to small talk with Jazz as she was led towards the large chamber in the center of the castle…besides, she had an unusual case of nervousness sprout within her stomach just then, and she needed to get that under control. Strange…she had never been nervous before going to any balls or galas in Amity Park. Her eyes widened as she was led through two very large and intricately carved doors into a chamber that was glittering with a thousand candles…and in the center of this room, stood (not floated) the mysterious Danny Phantom.

"Have fun," Jazz whispered in her ear before enclosing the girl in the room, disappearing through the floor to who knows where, leaving Sam to smile awkwardly. She took another deep breath and turned around to walk towards the stoic looking halfa, her awkward smile turning genuine as she came ever nearer. He wasn't dressed that much different than he usually was, the only real difference that Sam could see was the coat of arms on his black jacket…a great wolf surrounded with a ring of roses. His crisp white jerkin and black trousers made an elegant picture that wasn't too serious by his unruly white hair and smirking green eyes, glowing intensely in the candlelight.

She stopped a few feet away from him and gave him a small curtsy with a challenging smirk dancing across her lips and a fire in her eyes. His face didn't change, but he did dip into a regal bow before he offered his arm to her, which she looped through after a teasing grin. "The room looks wonderful…how long did it take everyone on such short notice?"

"Surprisingly, not that long," he replied with a contemplative look on his face as he guided her over to a sumptuous looking dinner. "They all seemed very eager to have a new project."

"I told you," Sam said with a smirk as she sat down in a chair that Phantom had pulled out for her. "I told you that they needed to have something to do, or else they'd be bored."

Danny shot her an annoyed look before he headed over to his own seat, his green eyes sparkling in slight humor though that belied the annoyance. Sam just laughed softly as she arched her eyebrow and gave the snowy-haired youth a look before taking a sip of water from her goblet. He let out a sigh and fixed her with a look of his own, exasperation coating his while hers sparked with amusement.

"Yes, all right, you were right…do you want a medal or something?"

"Nope, just happy you recognized my brilliance," Sam said with an accomplished grin as she focused her attention on the meat free spread before her, smiling to herself at the annoyed grunt that she could hear from the halfa. They ate in companionable silence for a good deal of the meal, just enjoying the other's presence, before small talk (or arguing in their case) broke out between the two. Both silently wondered how they, who both were so offended by the other for the longest time at first, could be where they were now. Another one of life's mysteries…

Sam could hear a soft tune coming from the dance floor, one that sounded sorrowful but still hopeful at the same time with melodious piano notes and deep lyrics, and she sent a smile over to the distracted youth sitting opposite her. His eyes were glowing brightly, but his conscious was somewhere else, contemplating something that Sam couldn't venture to guess…at least until she grabbed his cold hands and yanked him up to his feet. He gave her a surprised look that accompanied an equally surprised yelp, but she ignored both and led him to the dance floor with that smirk still playing across her lips in a playful manner.

"You did promise this was a ball," she explained, understanding his question without him having to voice it, coming to a stop directly in the middle of the floor where the music could be heard the loudest. "What do you think people do at balls?"

"It's been awhile since I've had one," Danny admitted with a sheepish smile, inwardly fighting the blush at their connected hands, hers warm to counter his cold. "You could always remind me."

"Dance with me," she replied instead, wrapping one hand around his shoulder while the other guided his to her waist before interlocking with his only remaining limb. His pulse sped up at the undeterminable look she was giving him and he swallowed nervously before he began to move.

"All right," he said so softly it could have been classified a whisper as his feet fell into a familiar rhythm with the music, guiding her along with him. The music changed multiple times, sometimes a fast tempo that made them both dance in strange ways to get the other to laugh (Sam won, of course with a jerking dance that involved her upper body) and some heartfelt and slow so they could dance close. It wasn't until a song, much like the first but different with other sounds accompanying the piano keys, came on did Danny decide to surprise the dark-haired girl for once.

Without warning, he jetted into the air, causing Sam to clutch onto him in alarm as they sped off the ground and into unstable air, smirking at the affronted glare he received once he stilled his ascent from those deep purple eyes. He encouraged her to loosen her death grip on his frame, assuring her with those glowing eyes that it would be all right, and eventually settled her into a comfortable position that mirrored the one they had first tried on the ground. He danced with her through the air, feeling his heart speed up as she smiled at their dance and then at him before resting her head on his shoulder. He hugged her closer as he twirled and waltzed through the air, inhaling her scent and everything else he could, trying to imprint her to his memory as best he could. During this dance, this fairy dance of theirs, the last wall around his heart came crashing down, and he could only think and feel one thing.

_I love you._

He started to drift back down to the ground as the song dwindled down to its end as well, something that shook the girl from his shoulder and earned him a slightly dreamy smile. He thought about teasing her about it, but decided against it as their feet touched the ground once more. He didn't want to ruin the mood with something stupid…wouldn't Jazz be proud, he thought with a small smile. They stood still for a moment that could've lasted all eternity for all anyone knew before they both moved towards a large veranda outside that overlooked one of the gardens…their hands still entwined with one another's.

Sam took a deep breath and cast a wistful smile up towards the glowing moon in the now night sky as she sat beside Danny on the large stone barrier surrounding them on the veranda. She couldn't remember a time when she had had as much fun, or had been as happy, as she had been tonight…and she smiled yet again at the snowy-haired youth beside her, staring at the sky in a similar fashion as she had been before looking down at their hands. That warm feeling spread through her again, this time without the confusion that usually came with the feeling, and she just basked in the feeling until his nervous tenor broke through the silence.

"Sam…are you, you know, happy here at all?"

Sam smiled and squeezed his hand before answering…it was really adorable how the cool and collected Phantom could act so nervous sometimes. "Yes, I really am. Not at first, but…things changed. You changed…and I think I have too. I just…well, I kind of miss my family. Even my mother, to some extent, and I just worry about them worrying about me. My father didn't exactly get a good impression of you, you know."

Danny didn't say anything at first just looked at her with an unfathomable look before he grabbed her other hand and whispered for her to relax. Before Sam had time to fully prepare for it, a cold swept over her and she found herself, weighing as nothing and seen as nothing, floating through the air and then through the walls of the manor. The snowy-haired youth's eyes were closed in concentration as he phased them through rooms and passageways of the castle until the arrived in all too familiar room that Sam had not seen in three months. It was his room, Danny's room, in all of its torn and decimated glory…the room that had the entrancing violet rose, wilting as if it were dying, that had haunted her sleep for the past five months.

Danny opened his eyes and turned the two of them tangible again and gave her a small smile before letting go of her hands and walking over to the small table the rose was on. He walked back holding a mirror that seemed to be made of jade and had an ebony face instead of clear glass and gave it to her after a moment's deliberation. Sam raised an eyebrow in question as she gazed into her inky reflection before looking at Danny once more.

"It's a special mirror," Danny answered the unvoiced query with a joyless smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "It can show you anything you want…it's all I can offer you."

Sam looked at him with a surprised look before directing her gaze downward again before she spoke softly to the mirror, with a slightly apprehensive tone. "I'd like to see my family…please."

The mirror flared to life with an eerie green light before outlining a picture in its black face, a picture that showed her home. It was clean, as usual, but there was something wrong with it…she saw her mother looking so haggard beside a bedside and got her answer. Her father was in bed, muttering incoherently with a glazed look to his eyes…and her mother was crying for her husband to awake and come back to sanity. Sam felt her breath catch and a tear slid down her face without her knowledge, but not missing the attention of her green-eyed companion who was studying her intensely. Sam had thought of her family, to be sure, the time that she had been in Fenton manor…but she hadn't really thought about what her disappearance would do to her family. A sob caught in her throat and she looked up sharply to the two closed off green eyes staring at her.

"Your family needs you with them," the Phantom said in a quiet voice before she could voice her findings…he didn't want to see her cry anymore; it didn't suit her. "You have to go back…you can't stay here any longer."

"But…I thought that I was your--"

"I haven't thought of you as a prisoner for many months…you're free to leave whenever you wish," Danny answered for her again in a collected voice he praised himself for holding, despite what his heart and mind were screaming at him to do. He knew what he was doing…that his birthday was less than a month away and what would happen on that day…and he was okay with it, as long as she smiled at him like she was now. It was worth it.

"I-I really don't know how to thank you for understanding, Danny," Sam whispered as she placed a hand on his cheek before trying to give him back the mirror, but he pushed it back.

"It will help you return home quicker," he supplied from the question in her gaze. Before he released her, he leaned forward and brushed a soft, barely perceptible kiss to her cheek and then back away from her and her warm hand. "Just…promise me you'll be happy, Sam. That's the only request I have of you."

"I will be…and I'll come back to visit everyone," Sam said with a sad smile, whispering _and you _to herself. She hurried away from the room towards her own quarters, pausing for a millisecond at his door to mouth one last thank you _(I…you)_ before she walked away. She forced her mind and heart away from the cold feeling swarming through her body as she raced towards her room and yanked open the doors to grab the violet cloak from her bed before hurrying out and towards the stables. Right now, she had to make things right with her family…she had to correct the wrong she had made in staying at the manor to escape her fate in Amity Park.

She knew she hadn't been a prisoner either…but she didn't know why she had continued to stay…maybe it was the thought of traveling in the winter weather. Something hissed at her mind about the lie she just told herself, but she ignored that as she saddled up Lillith and mounted the mare. "Hurry home, girl," Sam whispered in her horse's ear with a slight nudge of her ankles, gripping the mirror tightly underneath her hold on the reins as Lillith took off in a gallop away from the manor. She didn't look back as they hurried away from the dark castle, not even when she thought she heard a mournful and ghostly wail against the wind, because she knew, deep down, that she wouldn't be able to turn back home. She just didn't understand why…

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Danny watched her fade away from sight with a pained look on his face…he had kept the mask up for as long as she had been there. He couldn't do it anymore…he had taken away his walls and indifference for her and he couldn't rebuild them…he just couldn't. He vaguely thought he felt something warm streak down his cheek but he didn't care if it was real or not…he couldn't bring himself to care beyond the loss echoing deep inside his soul. He tried to believe that she would return to the castle given time…but she would already be too late to reverse the curse that plagued him and the household…

He let out a hollow laugh as he directed his gaze skyward and thought that she would be happier back among the living anyhow…after all, what did a monster like him have to offer? He was barely human…and the little shred he had recovered was only because of her…he would lose it like he had before. She had been the only anchor he had to keep the ghost from overpowering the human he had once been…and besides, she could never feel the way he does about her…it was better this way for her. He wanted her to be happy; if that meant that he would die while she was reunited with her family, so be it. He would be forever thankful for the affection and friendship she had given to him, despite what he was. He let out one last Wail to get some of the roar inside his soul out, letting it mingle with the wind and night until he felt the burning sensation of needing to breathe overcome him.

"Danny?" he heard his sister ask from behind him, concern and worry practically dripping off her tone as she approached her distraught brother…why did so many people continue to care and treat him with kindness when it was his fault they were all cursed? "Are you…what happened? I thought that things were going okay…why did she leave?"

"I let her go."

"WHAT??!!" three surprised voices shouted at the heartbreaking sight of a boy's reply. "Danny," Tucker said with a terrified voice as he floated to face him directly. "Why would you do that?…we were so close! The curse is up in only twenty-six days, and when that happens…"

"I know what it means," Danny replied before he rose from his position and walked, not floated, back into his room and away from his balcony. "But…I didn't want her to be sad, and she would have been if I kept her here when her father and mother are suffering. She deserves to be happy…not some God damn pawn to break a curse."

"You love her, don't you Danny?" Jazz asked as her brother disappeared into his room, shutting away the world once more. She fixed her big bluish-green eyes on Tucker's green ones and grasped his hand as he told Valerie to inform the household what had transpired. "You love her, even though you didn't think you could, you do…and that's why you've accepted death. You idiot…you're an idiot, little brother."

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Plasmius smirked to himself as he saw the girl gallop away from the manor, leaving a broken Phantom on his balcony…the latter a sight that the red-eyed sorcerer drank up like a sailor dying of thirst. He chuckled slightly to himself at the wonderful despair he had caused, and at how wonderfully his little plan had worked to draw the girl away from the boy…now all he needed was an angry mob, and he knew just where to find one of those. He'd be patient though…he'd wait for the opportune moment to strike before he made his move.

He smirked one last time before he waved a hand over his crystal ball, erasing the image from its smoky depths. He knew that the Manson girl's father would recover the moment he laid eyes on his long lost daughter…after all, that was the nature of the curse he had placed upon the man…just the right motive to make the girl abandon Phantom before she could discover what it was she felt for him. And after that, Dashiel Baxter would certainly come calling, and she would no doubt rebuke him…but this time, he would be there to question why…and that would lead to another plan of his.

He was going to destroy Daniel Fenton before his curse came to fruition…and that meant destroying everything close to him in that castle of his. And he would use the power he would gain from the boys' demise to undo a mistake he had made a hundred years ago…and reclaim his lost love and kill that imbecile she called husband.

Plasmius smiled again before he once again hid his true visage underneath glamour, once again became a wealthy merchant named Vladimir Masters, as he played all his pawns in a way that benefited him best. Everything was going according to plan.

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Hi all! Thank you all for being patient with my bust schedule, I really appreciate it! For some reason, I love the idea of a fairy dance (those readers of Ashes know this all too well, ne?) and I hope I didn't go overboard on the angst…but whatever. Please review and let me know what you think! More to come soon!

Osco


	8. Chapter Eight

_**Withering (7/?)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Eight: _Changing Tides_**

Sam watched her father's uneven breathing as she wiped his brow with another wet rag, letting the warm water help alleviate the fever burning through his veins. She gave her mother a wan smile as she walked in with more blankets and some medicine prescribed by the local healer before directing her attention back to her sick father. By his side, on the stool by her parents' bed, was where she had been for the past three and a half weeks, helping her father fight off a cold induced fever he had gained while attempting to search for her during one of his hallucinations. Her mother had told her all about those, how they had come about all a sudden and made her father see things that weren't there and then would collapse into coma like spells for days on end…it was like a nightmare come alive for Pamela Manson.

Sam had hurried away from the mansion of the Phantom as fast as she could once he had told her she was no longer a prisoner, no matter the deal she had struck for her father's freedom. She had made the journey incredibly fast, covering distances on Lillith that would normally take days in only a day…and that's when she had happened across her father. He looked half mad, crying her name into the trees and cursing the unnamed "Ghost monster" for taking away his daughter…Sam didn't need to think all that hard to know it was Danny her father was cursing. It had been a relief to find him and terrifying at the same time as she watched her father descend further into this madness consuming him.

She had vaulted off Lillith and wrapped her arms around him, shouting to him that she was back and that everything was going to be all right, urging him to open his eyes and see her. And, as suddenly as the madness had come upon him, it vanished the moment his blue eyes locked with the violet ones of his daughter, breathing her name like a pray had been answered before his body was wracked with shivers. Sam had hauled him onto Lillith with a strength she didn't know she had before urging the mare to run towards home as fast as she could.

Lillith had delivered, but William Manson was already coughing much to violently and his skin was flushed to touch, causing the would be tearful reunion between Sam and her mother to be cut short in order to get a doctor for her father. Luckily, the fever was caught soon and addressed, but her father's body was so weak from the strange affliction he had suffered before, the doctor said it would him longer than usual to fight off the fever. His words rang true as Sam, nearly four weeks later, was still helping her father get better…even thought she had this nagging feeling in the back of her head that there was something she hadn't done…something that would cause something else to happen that would be terrible.

The town had been all abuzz with the news that the inventor's missing daughter had miraculously reappeared after nearly four months of vanishment, and many had tried to come and see the Mansons to extend their condolences and astonishments. Others spoke of witchcraft working against the village of Amity Park, witchcraft that had infected William Manson with delusions of a snowy-haired demon…but most would contradict themselves moments later. Sam knew though…she knew her father wasn't mad and that the 'demon' did exist. He just wasn't a demon…only a lonely young man that had been ostracized from society for a hundred years. In her mind, he had reason to be a little rude to people now and then.

Funny…she wouldn't have thought that a month ago…maybe not even a week ago. She had always insisted that he shouldn't be so rude to people just because others had during his lifetime, but now that she was back in the village, she could understand how so many hurtful glares and harsh words could wear a person down…maybe living amongst ghosts had desensitized her to how cruel human beings could be to those who are different. She heaved a heavy sigh and turned her thoughts away from Danny and everyone in the Fenton manor as her father fluttered his eyes open, giving him a gentle smile as his clouded blue eyes cleared and focused on her and her mother.

"Good morning, Father," Sam said softly as she gripped her father's hand, letting her mother embrace the husband she loved who hadn't opened his eyes lucidly for a month.

"Oh William!" Pamela said as she muffled her cries in his neck before pulling away and hastily wiping her tears with a dainty tissue. "Oh, you had us all so worried! I must go inform the doctor at once…Samantha, watch over your father!" And with that, the small woman hurried out of the room, leaving a smirking daughter and confused husband in her wake.

"I…Sammy?" William asked his daughter, trying to make sure it was really her and not some cruel apparition playing tricks on a grieving father. "Is that really you? Are you really here with me and your mother?"

"Of course I am," Sam answered as she let her father pull her into his weak embrace. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"But…how did you escape?" her father asked after several moments, pulling away to lock onto his daughter's bright violet eyes. "I mean that _thing_ wasn't…I mean he's…"

"He's not a _thing_, first off," Sam said as she tucked an errant black lock behind her ear, fixing her father with a look that brooked no argument. "You just met him at a…at a bad time."

"But…did you even see him, Samantha?" her father asked, confused how his daughter couldn't speak badly of her captor. "He was…he was…"

"Half dead?" Sam finished for her father with a small smile before she wiped away some of the sweat on her father's forehead. "Yeah, I saw that, kind of hard to miss…but that doesn't make him a bad person. And I didn't escape…he let me go."

"But, why?"

"He saw that you were ill and how it pained me to not be near to help you so…he let me leave," Sam said with a faraway look on her face before she shook it off and turned her slightly mocking smile back to her prone father. "Do you want to know some stuff about him?"

Her father's response was a confused head bop, which Sam took as a cue to continue on with her narrative. "Well, his name isn't thing, monster or Phantom…it's Daniel Fenton, but he prefers Danny because he said it reminds him of his age. He was around sixteen whenever whatever it is happened to him, well, happened to him and he has an older sister named Jazzmine…the talking book you saw. The entire castle is under some kind of enchantment that no one will talk about, and I think they're in some kind of trouble. Danny's been treated horribly ever since he became a halfa, oh what he calls being half ghost and half human, and that's why he treated you so horribly…he doesn't like being stared at. His favorite food used to be these cookies his mother used to make and he likes to watch me paint, but doesn't like to paint himself. His hair is in fact white and his eyes are green, but only glow when he's angry or protecting someone…he's saved my life and I saved his and he said to tell you he's sorry if he scared you."

William stared at his daughter and sat up straight in his bed, smiling strangely at his daughter. "You seem to know an awful lot about this Phantom…this Danny Fenton."

"Yeah, well, we did have a lot of time to get to know each other," Sam said as a faint blush coated her cheeks prettily. "Big old castle in the middle of nowhere and all. We fought constantly at first…I even ran away once after he scared me with this wail of his…but he saved me from some evil specter that tried to kill me on my way back. After that, I think we understood each other a bit better."

"And he just let you leave? Sounds like he cared a great deal for you," William observed with a slight smile. He wasn't exactly thrilled with this 'Danny' just yet but he seemed to win over his daughter, a feat damn near impossible. "It must have been hard for him to let go of the first friend he had in a long time."

"Well...I was worried about you and all," Sam said as she tried to change the topic to something that didn't leave her so confused and aching inside. "But you're better now, and that's all that matters."

"You shouldn't worry about only me, Sammy," William answered with a gleam in his eye that was something unidentifiable. Before Sam could ask what her father meant by his vague statement, her mother bustled back in with a doctor and nurse in tow, shooing her from the room so the doctor could examine her father. Sam gave her mother an annoyed glare before exiting the room and subsequently the house as she walked downstairs and exited the manor from the back door. She didn't want to stay in the stuffy old room anyway, not with that many people poking her father and casting her strange looks every now and then.

Sam walked out into the fields behind her home and sat cross-legged on the ground, casting her own gaze up at the sky and the clouds scattered throughout it. The wind played with her hair gently, a cool breeze that still spoke of winter even as the seasons rolled into spring at long last. She let out another sigh, one of many of late, and her thought drifted back towards the enchanted manor deep in the forest and of the magical beings that dwelt therein. She missed them, everyone in that spooky manor, and she missed Danny. She had always thought that heading home would be this welcome relief and that she'd never think again on the castle, but now…it was all she could think about, sleeping or awake.

It wasn't supposed to be this hard, she thought petulantly (she recognized the hated tone even though she didn't want to); she was supposed to never want to go back. But then again, she was also supposed to marry Dashiel Baxter and have lots of babies, and that was something Sam knew would never happen. Letting out a frustrated growl instead of a sigh, Sam flung herself back onto the ground so her eyes couldn't help but stare skyward…but all the clouds just seemed to form shapes of roses, long and short, stubby or graceful.

The air grew cold around her and Sam sat up quickly to be met with a dark field as opposed to the green one she had just been laying in. The clouds were gray and ugly above her, not white and fluffy and she could hear someone screaming her name in the wind, harsh instead of gentle. Sam's eyes fell on a glittering purple rose, trampled and forgotten before her, withered away and only one petal left hanging on its stem…and when she touched it, it glowed and then the last petal fell. She looked up and saw the blue eyed boy that had been haunting her dreams for the past four months, a mournful look on his face before he disappeared in a gust of wind. Sam called out to him and tried to get up but was stopped dead on her feet when another figure stood in the boy's place.

It was the red-eyed specter from the road that night…and he was grinning at her while he crushed another purple rose in his fist.

Sam felt a terror that wasn't her own fill her body and she shot up from the ground…the sky blue again and the fields green. It had just been a dream, that's all…a dream that had happened while she was awake…yeah, that was believable. She sat up to her feet and brushed the grass off her long dress before marching back up to her house…she just needed to forget about everything that had happened recently and just focus on getting her father better. She decided to enter through the front door instead of the back to retrieve some of the mail she knew was accumulating on the doorstep and when she rounded the corner, was met with an interesting surprise.

It looked to be a wedding party, as the whole town was standing outside her door, and there he was, Dashiel Baxter, wearing a tux on her front doorstep. She cast her purple eyes towards the heavens, begging to know what she had done wrong in a past life to deserve this treatment, before she directed a withering scowl at the smug looking blonde.

"What are you doing here, Dash?" Sam asked through clenched teeth, attempting to keep her voice civil for her mother's sake and sanity. "I am NOT marrying you for the last time!"

"Well, maybe you should hear out my proposal first, Samantha," Dash responded, that God damn smile still on his face. "After all, the village here thinks it would be a good idea to help rebuild your family name…after your father's insanity and your questionable disappearance, I think it would be good for you to marry me and help restore the honor that your family has lost."

"My mother is the only one who cares about 'honor' in this family," Sam responded scathingly as she walked up he entryway steps and away from the moronic imbecile before her. "My father was ill with a disease that made him see things that weren't there, and you can ask the doctor inside later if you wish. And as for me, I really don't care what you say about me Dash Baxter because I don't want to marry ANY one in this town, least of all YOU."

Before Dash could respond with a probable boorish retort, a man dressed in merchant's clothes stepped out from the crowd, a concerned look on his refined face. The man was dressed in expensive clothes, and his coifed gray hair and clean, unmarked skin showed that he hadn't done nay hard labor before…at least not with his hands. He smirked once at Sam before he turned to address the crowd, his smooth voice sounding oily, untrustworthy, and somewhat familiar to Sam's ears.

"You see, good townsfolk of Amity Park? You see how the beast's tempting ways have convinced this poor, defenseless girl that nothing terrible happened to her on her abduction? Not only did it cause her father to go mad, it has nearly has done the same with his daughter. This will not be the end of it, mark me, I have hunted this demon for as long as I can remember and my father before me…this is only a taste of the evil it can do! We must muster a force and attack the manor wherein he dwells, deep in woods, or our families will never be safe from the monster…from this Halfa!"

"No!" Sam yelled out over the crowd as it roared in approval with the elegant man's words. "No, he's not a monster and this man doesn't know what he's talking about! The Phantom's never even left the castle!"

"How do you know, dear child?" the man asked her smoothly, his dull blue eyes boring into her purple ones as he circled her, smiling every time a towns person shouted out his name…Vlad Masters. "Surely you slept while imprisoned…how do you know if he left the manor or not to terrorize other villages and your own father?"

"Because I know him!" Sam retorted, but it was lost as the crowd roared in disapproval. She let out an angry sigh and stormed into the house and up to her room where she kept the mirror Danny had given her the last night at the castle. She had ignored it until now, not wanting to face the memories and feelings she knew would surface if she looked into it and peeked at how everyone was doing. But now it could help…she could show everyone that Danny wasn't some monster, just a powerful being that was lonely and scared of something he couldn't face. She grabbed the elegant mirror and stormed back outside, ignoring her parents' pleads and the doctor's warning's that the crowd was to wild to listen to reason.

"I'll prove to you that he's not evil…show me the Phantom!" Sam yelled into the mirror to reveal the snowy-haired young man sitting alone in his room and gazing forlornly out his balcony, his green eyes swimming in sadness.

"Do not be fooled by his youthful appearance," the man named Vlad Masters said to the crowd, his lip curling in triumph at the blonde man's anger he could feel forming towards the halfa. "He is much to dangerous to just leave be, especially after he has already struck once against this town!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Sam shouted back to the merchant. "He may seem frightening, being half dead and all, but he's really very shy and sweet…he's a friend, my friend."

"It sounds like you actually have feelings for this monster," Dash hissed at the raven-haired girl, his fists forming balls of fury towards the green-eyed boy who had stolen away his prospective and beautiful bride.

"You're mixing up whose who, Dash," Sam responded in an equally scathing tone. "He's not the monster…it's you who is though!"

The merchant Vlad waved a hand towards Sam before continuing on with his diatribe against the halfa. "Do you see how he has corrupted her mind? He must be stopped, and this is the village to do it! Are you going to stand by as this poor girl's fate is inflicted on another?"

"No!"

"He must be stopped!"

"Kill the creature!"

"No!" Sam yelled as Dash grabbed hold of her arms roughly and tossed her inside her house, addressing her one final time before he shut and barred the door.

"If you're not with us, you're against us…and just think Samantha, once I've killed this demon then you'll be mine once more."

"I was never, and will NEVER be yours you idiotic excuse for a human being," Sam hissed as her fiery purple eyes filled with angry fire. "And he's more human than you will EVER be!" Dash sent her one last hateful look before he slammed the door shut and barred it moments later with something to heavy to budge as Sam tried and tried to pen the door. She hurried to the back door but found it similarly barred, leaving her to cry silently as she watched an angry mob of fire toting villagers march into the woods towards the Fenton castle.

Towards Danny.

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So…sorry about the late update, but I've been rather busy with real life issues and school of late! Also, sorry the chapter is a little on the short side, but I liked where it ended…I hope you all liked what was there! I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but I hope sooner rather than later! Just please be patient with me and drop me a review to let me know what everyone thought! Until next time!

Osco


	9. Chapter Nine

_**Withering (9/?)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Nine: _Fight and Defend_**

The wind blowing through the castle reminded the ghostly inhabitants of a mournful wail, crying out plaintively for something lost, and chilling those in the manor to their cores. Perhaps it was because a sound not all that dissimilar to the wind's had been voiced not that long ago…that wind and its haunting melody. It was slowly crushing the small glimmers of hope that had sparked back to life in the cursed persons until they were nothing but mere memories. They floated aimlessly through the halls of the enchanted manor, heads hung and eyes dulled, accepting the fact that their fates would be sealed that night.

Valerie ground her teeth in frustration at everyone's defeated attitude as she stomped through the halls…she'd be damned if she gave up one second before the clock chimed midnight's final stroke! Her completely black eyes, eyes that had once been chocolate brown, flashed defiantly as she passed two serving maids with their eyes downcast and spirits low, striding powerfully towards the West wing; towards the despondent and resigned prince. There was still a chance that the girl would finally heed her dreams and return, even if it was slim, and Valerie wasn't about to let the prince forget that. Jazz and Tucker had done all they could for the once happy young man…perhaps kindness and sympathy weren't what was needed for Danny Phantom now.

Valerie pushed the heavy doors of the prince's chambers open and strode forward with one arm gripping the hilt of her sword and the other resting on her hip…the epitome of a fierce warrior. She gave Jazz a curt nod when the red-head fixed her exasperated eyes on her, reassuring the princess that she knew what to do and not to worry just yet; everyone but Jazz, Tucker and herself had fallen back into hopelessness and it was starting to wear on each of them. She turned her eyes away from Jazz and focused on a torn tapestry as she waited for Tucker to finish with the prince…a tapestry that once depicted a very happy family in the west garden. She remembered how that tapestry used to look in the grand hall, beautiful and shining just like the royal family had been. She gave a silent sigh as she remembered how handsome she thought he blue-eyed prince was, so free and unburdened with all that the green-eyed prince carried now.

She felt her lips twitch in an echo of a smile as she recalled how smitten she had been with the mischievous prince when they had first met, and how she hadn't cared that he seemed to be waiting for someone else all throughout their betrothal. She had been foolish back then, stubbornly believing that she would replace this mystery girl that he would dream about, a maiden in a flower field with purple eyes, but those days were over. She had loved him once, and still did in a slightly different fashion, but she knew now, as she had known then, that she never was the maiden he had been waiting for. She knew before the curse fell that this girl would come someday, and believed after that she would be the one to lift the curse.

That title belonged to the purple-eyed mortal who was little more than a girl who had traded in her freedom for her father's some five months ago. Valerie had instantly liked the girl, her wit was sharp and she had a knack for getting under the prince's now icy skin, and they had bonded during her stay here…and she could see that the prince was desperately in love with this slip of a girl. Her little Danny had finally found his dream girl, and that was why she swore to make Samantha Manson pay if she ignored her feeling much longer. The curse required that the actual words needed to be spoken…keeping them bottled inside wouldn't do. If Danny became enslaved to Plasmius, she would never forgive the girl for tossing aside something she once would have died to feel from the prince.

Valerie shook her head of such dark thoughts, as there was no use in worrying about things that had to come to pass. The arms master saw Tucker, with a defeated expression that didn't suit his cheerful soul at all, leave the balcony and float over to Jazz, letting his love wrap her arms around him comfortingly. She knew how hard it must be for the young steward to deal with the prince…Danny was his best friend and they were practically brothers. Tucker flashed red eyes in Valerie's direction and gave her a wan smile; looks like it was up to her now. Valerie nodded towards the pair before floating through the door to the outside balcony and to the Phantom prince.

The arms master found the snowy-haired prince perched on the railing, a faraway look in his dull green eyes; gazing out at nothing…she let out an angry sigh before walking to stand beside him. They both just stood in silence for a time; they had always been comfortable around each other and the silence wasn't awkward, but Valerie knew that she had to get something through that boy's thick skull. "You know, you're kind of pathetic right now, the whole 'heart-broken' martyr look really isn't in anymore."

"Just leave it, Valerie," the prince responded without tearing his gaze away from the nothing, his voice tired and spoken in naught but a whisper. "What's done is done, there's no point in talking about it anymore."

"Yes there is," Valerie hissed as she forced the prince to turn around and look at her…he wasn't all that much taller than she was and she had a whole lot more fire in her than he did at the moment. "My God, Danny! You're giving up before the curse is even up…are you just going to let Plasmius win after all this time of fighting him? This isn't like you, and you know that…Phantom would never just roll over and let his enemy win!"

"Maybe I'm just tired of fighting something that was inevitable," Danny answered in a firm voice, his eyes boring into hers despite their lackluster quality. "I mean, what's the point, Val? In about five hours I'm going to die and my soul's going to belong to Plasmius…I know you believe that there's time but there just isn't any!"

"What about Sam?" Valerie asked, ignoring the pain flitting across the prince's eyes at mention of the maiden. "She'll return and find that you're gone and we're stuck like this…get off the pity ride you're on and just go to her! Tell her how you feel and break this curse before Plasmius has a chance to hurt her!"

"He'll hurt her if I do go to her, Valerie!" Danny responded with and angry glint entering his eyes. "Don't you see that? Even if she did return my feelings, which she doesn't, he'd try everything in his power to hurt her to get to me! I can't...no, I won't let that happen to her! She deserves to live a life away from all this…away from all the pain and destruction that seems to follow me everywhere."

"It isn't up to you to decide that for her, Danny," Valerie replied with a slightly gentler tone and a knowing look in her eyes. "You don't know if she loves you are not and the only way to figure that out is to go to her…and let her decide if she wants to live her life with you. It isn't fair to not give her the choice and you know she'd be upset if she was here and knew what you were trying to do."

"She isn't here," Danny responded quietly before turning his back to the dark-haired warrior, his shoulders slumped in defeat and resignation. "And I'm not going to lead Plasmius right to her…I really am sorry for everything that happened to the people here and I'm sorry that I can't reverse your curses but…but it's over, Valerie. Just leave me be."

Valerie stared steadily at the prince for a moment before she bowed stiffly to him, anger evident in every part of her ghostly body. "You're making a huge mistake, Danny…and I intend to make you realize that." She didn't wait to hear if he would have a response or not before turning on her heel and stomping back into his inner chambers to face an ashen looking Jazz…her face enveloped in a fear that wasn't for the current situation. "What's happening?"

"Kwan spotted a huge mob of villagers heading this way," Jazz said in a slightly hysterical voice. "They're being led by an oafish blonde lad who has the mirror Danny gave to Sam and…and a man with red eyes! Val, it's him!"

Valerie didn't have to ask who 'him' was as she knew…Plasmius had come to collect on the curse and he had brought an entire town to aid him in that venture. True that they had ghostly appearances and could disappear and reappear at will, but if attacked and wounded, they could bleed and could be killed. Still human underneath their exteriors…just like Danny…Danny who could be killed just as easily as well. Valerie fixed her calculating black eyes on Jazz, and a distraught Tucker who had just reappeared by her side and pulled her sword from her scabbard menacingly.

"All right then, I want you Jazz to round up all the children and hide them in the cellars before finding Star and rounding up all the servants. Tucker, go find Kwan and gather all the soldiers…meet Jazz in the main foyer of the manor and wait for the mob to break down the door. Use your powers and avoid being hit…scare them, trick them, do anything you can to prevent them from heading upstairs towards Danny. Keep them away until I come back, do you understand?"

"Where are you going?" Tucker asked as Jazz, catching onto what the arms master had planned, nodded and phased though the floor to set about her tasks. "We need you here to face off against Plasmius…you're the only one beside Danny who can fight him!"

"I'm aware of that, Tucker," Valerie said before striding back towards Danny on the balcony. "But we won't win this battle, in the end, by just defeating the villagers…I'm going to collect a secret weapon and Plasmius CANNOT discover what I'm doing! I don't think he'll reveal himself until the villagers find Danny, so keep them away and wait for my return…I'll face off with him to give Sam some time to break the curse."

Tucker stared at the dark-skinned girl before nodding resolutely and darting through the floor to gather Kwan and all the others to meet Jazz in the entrance foyer, trusting in the arms master's plan. Valerie didn't waste another moment before flying over to face Danny's defeated face with a stern glare. "We have invaders attacking, Danny, and Plasmius is among them, cloaked in human form. I know that you want to give in and just stop fighting, but I can't allow that to happen just yet. We all care about you too much and I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you around a little longer. Just hold on a bit longer, Danny, let us fight for you in repayment for fighting for us for so long."

She pressed a brief kiss to the surprised looking boy's forehead before darting off into the sky, willing herself to fly as fast as she could. She knew the basic path to the village of Amity Park and she knew that a mob of that size couldn't have traveled that far without any sort of supplies…and if that man had the mirror, it meant that Sam's home had been right next door all along. She hoped that Tucker and Jazz would be able to hold off the mob long enough to keep Plasmius at bay…they were pretty determined when it came to Danny's safety but if Plasmius was leading this mob, all bets were off on just how the battle would go.

Valerie flew over the forests and into the town in little less than an hour, an accomplishment considering just how much forest surrounded the manor, out if breath but that determined glint still present in her eyes. She touched down in the center of the town, next to an old looking pub and glanced about for some sort of hint as to where Sam might live…but to no avail. She remembered vaguely the girl telling her that she lived on the outskirts of the town, but Amity Park wasn't exactly a small village and the arms master didn't have anytime to waste. She was thankful that none of the wandering peasants could see her form, a feat that only Sam seemed to accomplish as of yet, and she floated near to a balding man speaking with a worried looking woman.

"…be all right though? That merchant said the monster was dangerous!"

"I wouldn't worry about it, Miss Paulina, young Mr. Baxter seems ready to face off with it and Mr. Masters expressed confidence in him. I'm sure everyone will be fine and the town will be safe once more be daybreak."

"I suppose you're right, Mr. Lancer…Mr. Masters did seem very knowledgeable about the ghost-boy! I still cannot believe that the freaky little Manson tried to defend a monster like that though!"

"She is just under the creature's spell still…after being held captive for nearly four months who can blame the poor thing? But once the monster is vanquished, the spell will break and I'm sure she'll be grateful to everyone in the town…but until then, better she is kept locked away in her home."

"Serves her right…after insulting Dash the way she did!"

"She mustn't be blamed, my dear. As we speak, a doctor is heading over to the Manson manor to look over the family and make sure they are well…he should be there soon, his home is near theirs, on the west edge of the forest."

"Ugh, I cannot believe they enjoy living near that forest…it gives me the creeps!"

Valerie didn't stick around to hear anymore of the conversation, no matter how much she wanted to clobber both persons for speaking the way they did about Danny...like he was some sort of heartless monster that didn't deserve to exist! It made her blood boil to listen to that conversation, but she had got what she needed and she took off into the sky and flew towards the west edge of the forest…finding a rather large manor alone and surrounded by a flower field that was beginning to show signs of the coming spring. She smirked inwardly and flew down and through the ceiling into the house. She found a terrified looking woman looking straight at her as she glanced around the room…her blue eyes wide and staring at her with fear echoing in their depths. Valerie narrowed her brows in confusion…how did this woman see her as well?

"Where is Samantha?" Valerie asked in her firm tone, not really caring that the poor blonde woman looked ready to collapse. "Please! It's urgent and I have no the time to waste!"

"You-you came through the ceiling?" the woman sputtered with wide eyes as she slowly inched her way up the wall to a standing position. "How…how is that possible?"

Valerie growled to herself and stormed past the woman down the stairs, calling out for Sam and ignoring the woman's pleas to leave her daughter alone…wait, her daughter? Valerie whipped around and fixed her black eyes on the now scared but determined woman in shock…this woman was related to the rebellious Sam? Well, Sam had mentioned that she and her mother didn't see eye to eye on many things. Before she could ask the woman a question, a blonde man she recognized as Sam's father burst in…followed shortly by a distressed looking Sam. Sam's eyes went wide at the sight of Valerie and she flung her arms around the flustered warrior while whispering that she was sorry. Valerie looked over at the woman, obviously Sam's mother, and she was trying to explain to her husband that there was indeed someone that Sam was hugging…this was too much and they didn't have time for this!

"Sam!" Valerie all but yelled as she pulled the girl from her and stared at her with dark eyes…she needed to stop acting like she had killed someone when she hadn't yet. "I know that you're worried about Danny, and that's why I'm here…he needs your help! There's a mob heading towards our manor, and it's probably already arrived there, and Danny isn't going to do a damn thing about it."

"What? Why?" Sam asked in a surprised voice, wiping away her tears as if they were never there. God, Valerie liked this girl…she would need that strength by her side in the battle.

"Because he's been depressed ever since you left a month ago," Valerie answered, shooting a look over towards the couple near the door. The father was now explaining to his wife that he knew that voice as one of the magical speaking objects who had helped him in the manor all those months ago. "Listen Sam, I know it always seemed like we were hiding some precious secret, especially when concerning Danny, and you were right, we were. Danny and the rest of the household are under a horrible curse, a curse that will kill him fully tonight if YOU don't do something!"

"Me? What the hell can I do?" Sam asked, ignoring the way her mother gasped when she swore very un-ladylike.

"I can't tell you," Valerie answered with an angry sigh as her fists tightened into balls at her side. "Just please believe me…there's a man leading the mob that isn't really a man…he's Plasmius, the one who put us all under this curse in the first place. He's also the one who attacked you that night you tried to run away…and he's trying to make sure that Danny dies before the curse can be lifted. Please, we need your help…I know you care about Danny…"

"Of course I do!" Sam answered back with an unsure look in her eyes…looks like both she and Danny were just as stupid as the other when it came to their feelings. "I just don't know what to do…and this is all just so much and…"

"Sam," Valerie said gently, forcing the mortal girl to look into her back eyes. "I know everything is confusing right now, and I know that it seems almost too fantastic to believe, but I'm begging you to trust me. Please don't let Danny be killed…the result of that is a fate worse than death for him."

Valerie watched the emotions flicker across the girl's expressive violet eyes with bated breath…she needed to believe this without knowing everything! The dark-eyed warrior let out a sigh of relief when Sam's eyes met hers, steely and strong, nodding her head in her agreement to help Danny any way she could.

"Father, mother, please follow Valerie and I on Lillith as fast as you can…you remember what the castle looks like, Father?" Sam asked her father in a quiet but strong voice, her eyes imploring that they try to help Danny as well.

William Manson looked over from his daughter to where he assumed Valerie was standing…so he knew what his child did not? Valerie smirked and nodded her head even though the man wouldn't see her…but turned her attention back to Sam when the girl grasped the ghost-like swords-master's hand. Valerie assumed that her father had agreed because he was dragging is still stunned wife out towards the back door, which was still blocked off but Valerie quickly took care off after phasing her and Sam through the walls.

"Take me to him, Val," Sam whispered in that quiet voice that commanded so much power and was still so vulnerable…she could see why Danny fell for her.

"Hang on, Sam," Valerie said warningly and waited for the black-haired girl to wrap her arms around her waist, shutting her eyes tight before she focused on both her body and the girl's to become weightless. She didn't give Sam anymore warnings before she launched them both into the air, ignoring the girl's surprised scream as they sped off back towards the Fenton manor…and the battle that awaited them there.

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Neither Tucker nor Jazz had wasted anytime after Valerie had barked out her orders to the pair, rounding up all those who could fight and hiding away those who couldn't. Not many of the castle's staff, servants, and even soldiers had been very excited to fight off invaders, and some had been downright terrified when Tucker mentioned that Plasmius was among them, guised in the form of a silver-haired human. However, Jazz had informed them what Valerie was planning, and how it was up to them to fight off the mob and protect Danny until she arrived with Sam…and after Kwan and Star, hands intertwined, stepped forward with their hope back, the others had followed suit. Tucker proceeded to split the castle dwellers into specific groups, separated into different sections of the main entryway to make sure that none of the villagers wormed their way through.

After Jazz handed out weapons to the soldiers, she met back up with Tucker for a brief moment before they each had to head off into their own sections, eyes conveying everything their voices couldn't. "Don't worry Tuck," Jazz whispered softly to the stiff young man, touching their foreheads together in an intimate fashion before looking into his deep red eyes with her green ones. "Everything will be fine…I have this crazy feeling that some loud-mouth girl is going to march up those stairs and knock some sense into Danny before the end of the night."

"What about Plasmius?" Tucker asked, his red eyes filled with concern for his lover, knowing full well what her role was to be until Valerie reappeared. "Jazz, I don't want to lose you as well to that madman…"

"And you won't," Jazz replied before pressing her lips to Tucker's chastely a first time and allowing him to pull her back for a more passionate kiss. "Believe Tucker…" Jazz whispered against his lips after pulling away and out of the embrace.

"I love you Jazzmine Fenton," Tucker called out to her before heading over to meet with Kwan and most of the soldiers.

"I know," she called back, a smile gracing her beautiful features, blue skin and all. "And I love you…I'll see you soon."

Tucker nodded as he floated over to where the burly but kind Eastern man was waiting for him, a crossbow in his hand that he handed ff to Tucker as he hefted up his own blade, a thinner sword than any one the steward had seen. "Remember the plan, Kwan…try to scare off first, we don't want nay deaths if we can help it.

"I understand, Tucker," Kwan answered as he readied his katana and braved one last smile towards the dark-skinned and bespectacled young man. "We will fight to give Valerie time to return with the Lady Sam…and we will fight off the demon as well, eh?"

"Yes," Tucker answered as the banging on the large front doors began…it would only be a bit longer before they all entered and the fight began. "We will."

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It had been one of the hardest things she ever had to do, walking away from Tucker with the knowledge that either one of them might not make it out alive after this fight…but she needed to be strong so that others could too. Jazz smiled at the white-haired Star who was looking ready to fight with most of the other handmaidens and servants that were assembled near the west stairs. She had just as much reason to fear as Jazz did, knowing that Kwan was in the group with Tucker that would face the first wave of invaders, but the hope that was keeping them fired up was much stronger than fear. They had never truly believed that the curse would lift in truth; it seemed that many people just couldn't look past what they looked like, but Sam had.

"Are you sure everyone is ready?" Jazz asked the petite handmaiden, taking up one of the bows offered to her by another servant.

"Yep," Star replied cheerfully as she flipped some of her white hair out of face and flashed a bright smile towards her princess. She didn't even waver as the banging began to get louder, signifying to everyone that they would be in battle shortly, and Jazz couldn't help but smile back at the cheerful girl. "Everyone's ready and we all know what to do…we'll make sure no one gets past us to the Master's rooms but Lady Sam!"

"Good," Jazz replied back in a soft voice as she could hear the wood of the door splinter and break open, followed by angry shouts of what must belonged to the villagers. She prided on the fact that known by her flinched, but instead shimmered and possessed the weapons they were holding, waiting for the order from Jazz before they attacked.

Jazz could hear the clash of metal on metal and the terrified screams and yells from the villagers who must have reacted badly to seeing floating swords and other such weapons begin attacking them. She smiled grimly as she saw some of the villagers head over their way in an attempt to escape from the others and ordered her group to begin. She stood still as all wrapped themselves in the battle, the castle defenders taunting the horrified invaders with bodiless voices as they fought…and then she saw him.

Even though he looked human, there was no doubt in Jazz's mind that the smartly dressed man with his silver hair pulled back into a ponytail behind his head was Plasmius. The eyes may have looked dark blue, a mockery of her own father's eyes, but Jazz could see the crimson dancing beneath them, the cruelty in their depths. Those blue eyes smirked at her and he gave Jazz a scornful bow, but Jazz didn't so much as flinch before she flew at him…she be damned if this _monster_ got anywhere near her brother…

"Hello Jazzmine dear…I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long. I believe your brother has something that belongs to me."

"It's not midnight yet Plasmius!"

"No…but the clock is ticking, isn't it, my dear?"

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Dash had been horrified when those bodiless weapons began attacking the villagers…so much so that he had nearly dropped his own sword and fled the estate. But his jealousy and hatred of this mysterious _Phantom _kept him steady and let him get over his shock long enough so he could distract himself with fighting. He was strong while all others were week…the proof was there in how his fellow villagers ran screaming from the castle and he stayed to fight on.

He was beginning to get frustrated though, after fighting floating weapons for nearly an hour he still couldn't seem to get past the main foyer and he was beginning to tire. He growled in frustration and kicked aside a table as he hid behind a curtain to catch his breath…but that frustration turned to surprise as the table revealed a medium sized vent hole…those had to lead to other parts of the manor for sure! He smiled to himself and pried the iron covering off the vent and knelt down to peer inside. The vent was larger than one would expect, something he figured was for the size of the room, and after some wriggling he was able to force himself into the narrow passageway that now revealed itself to the blonde man.

Maybe this wasn't a ventilation system after all, but a secret passageway for people to escape through if the castle was under attack. Dash smiled again at hi luck and pulled out the mirror he had stolen from Sam from under his tunic. He asked for it to show him the halfa and the image floated onto the face, revealing a despondent and weak looking young man sitting on a balcony some stories up. Dash tucked the mirror away and began to run through the narrow passageway for a time until the sounds of battle faded and found another iron grate similar to the one he crawled through in the first place.

Dash used his sword to pry open this grate as well and crawled through the small opening to find himself in the middle of a strange hallway…one that was littered with torn pieces of fabric and broken shards of glass. He took off at a run, his sword gripped tightly in his hand, down the dark hallway, feeling incredibly lucky when he found of stairs that faced west and climbed them two at a time. "Watch out monster, Dash Baxter is coming for you!"

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The ride to the manor didn't take quite as long as Sam thought it would, but that hadn't lessened her grip around Valerie's waist any less, despite how could her arms felt at being so close to the ghost-like girl for so long. She couldn't even begin to sort out how jumbled her feelings were at the moment, but she knew one thing that did matter…it was about time that she saved Danny from the evil man like he had for her all those nights ago. She couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to the half-ghost and that alone kept her fear at bay…especially when the sound of a battle raging inside the manor reached her ears.

Valerie and Sam touched down in front of the wide open doors, heedless of all the villagers who were trying to escape as the warrior pulled out her sword and hooked her other arm around Sam's. After fighting off a crazed villager away from Sam, Valerie fixed her black eyes on Sam's violet ones in a desperate way after glancing at the clock in the main foyer. "Sam, you have to hurry up to Danny's quarters…I trust you still know how to get there?"

"Yeah," Sam replied, in a confused tone at the desperation that seemed to creep into Valerie's otherwise perfectly stoic mask. "But why the hurry…"

"Not now," Valerie said as she shielded Sam away from sight and steered the girl towards a secret set of stairs in the kitchen that Sam knew led right up to Danny's quarters…she had asked one of the servants about it before. "Just get to Danny, Sam. We'll stay down here and fight to make sure you can defend him from the curse…go!"

Valerie pushed the girl up the first couple of steps, ignoring the confused look she received before Sam pelted up the stairs as fast as the skirt she was wearing would allow her. Valerie took a few steps back into the main entry way and the battle raging on before she spotted Jazz trying her best to defend against a silver haired man…this one was Plasmius then. Valerie raised her sword and launched herself at the disguised sorcerer with a fierce cry that caused many of the ghostly denizens there to cheer for her. Before she reached Plasmius, however, another figure stepped into her way, his green hair flaming above his head and a large sword at his armored side…Valerie knew this creature.

"Hunter-child."

"Skulker."

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_With you by my side, I'll fight and defend…I'll fight and defend_

_So keep holding on…_

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Sorry for the wait again…but I have time now! Finals are over and I have no winter classes, we should finish this story by the end of the year! The song quote (and inspiration for the chapter) is from "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne from the _Eragon_ soundtrack. Awesome song and highly recommended by the author! Please drop me a review and let me know what you thought! Until next time!

Osco


	10. Chapter Ten

**_Withering (10/13)_**

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Ten: _A Purple Rose_**

Sam hurried up the narrow stairs Valerie had indicated, taking the stone steps two at a time and trying to ignore the burning sensation building up in her chest. The urgency the warrior-maiden had instilled in her had sparked a sense of immense dread inside the violet-eyed girl's mind; that look in those black eyes had suggested something terrible coming to pass if she didn't see Danny. Was being gone a month really making that big a difference within Danny? She honestly hadn't meant to be gone so long (whether she liked to admit or not, the ghostly inhabitants of Fenton Manor had grown on her), but she hadn't anticipated her father being ill. She had thought that Danny and everyone else would understand why it had taken longer to visit, but apparently everyone was privy to something she didn't know.

She paused on the stairs, to regain some of her breath, next to a small window that overlooked the front grounds of the castle and shook her head at the 'battle' occurring outside. The townsfolk of Amity Park were running away scared from the 'possessed' swords, bludgeons, and other weapons, seemingly scared to death by the animation of usually inanimate objects. Sam didn't see how these invaders were what Valerie was so concerned with, so she figured it had to be something else…something much more dire that seemed to revolve around her. Sam shrugged her shoulders and began running up the stairs once more, making a mental note to scold Danny for having a castle with such long staircases.

When she finally reached what she assumed to be the top of the stairwell, Sam was faced with a small and removable looking grate directly in front of her that opened up into a hallway…a dark one. There was only one hallway in the castle that was kept perpetually gloomy looking and that was Phantom's…he was so melodramatic about things sometimes. Sam crouched low to the ground, not caring if she grubbed her skirt and tunic any, and pushed open the iron grate, wriggling through it and out of hidden passageway. She took a deep breath and pushed her dark hair out of her face as she gained her bearings…she had hardly ever been to the West wing due to Danny's adverse attitude towards her being there. Looking at the ground, Sam smirked darkly at all the torn cloth and broken glass on the ground; looks like Danny unwittingly left breadcrumbs to his quarters in his angry fits.

Being careful to not cut her slipper-clad feet on any of glass, Sam quietly made her way down the dark hallway until met with a curve…funny, she didn't remember a curve in the hallway the last time she had been up here. Sam was about to curse and head back towards the staircase when she saw a sliver of light filtering down the hallway from a cracked open door at its end. Walking towards the light with a slight sense of trepidation flowing through her veins Sam kept feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, like she had been here before…or somewhere like it. It wasn't until she was standing just outside the door did she remember what was so familiar about this hallway…with the dimly lit walls, and the littered floors casting its shadow's upon those walls to mirror leafy looking designs, it was like walking through a dark forest.

But, there wasn't a blue-eyed boy this time, and she knew she wasn't dreaming…only her and this eerily filtered light as she pushed open the door all the way. It was a bedroom, Sam guessed, with a large and ornate bed placed near a window, but was covered with strange looking devices, some finished and others not, on the floor. Sam's violet eyes scanned the perfect walls, which was lit by a few candles, illuminating the perfectly preserved tapestries in a flickering light. Sam's eyes fell on one of the paintings in particular, eyeing the happy looking family depicted therein with a sense of awe and surprise. Her violet eyes locked onto sapphire blue ones belonging to a black-haired boy of about ten…and she knew that if you aged that face by six or seven years, he would look just like the boy from her dreams.

Her eyes briefly looked at the others in the painting, a large and beaming man with blue eyes and black hair, a serene looking woman with short ginger hair and light turquoise eyes, and a red-headed girl with sparkling eyes of the same color…a girl who Sam recognized to be Jazz. And, if this was Jazz she was looking at, then that meant the little boy was…

"Danny?" Sam asked in shock as she stared at the little boy's profile…and if you added white hair and green eyes tot hat face you'd get a younger version of Phantom. The boy she had been dreaming about for months was, in fact, the very one she had been living with all that time, the one she had been falling in love with despite his only existence in a dream? Suddenly, Sam felt very stupid as she remembered a dream where the boy looked to be two people in one body…how had she not seen it? The blending of black and white, blue and green, it all made so much sense in retrospect!

Sam smiled as she turned away from the fresco, her mind still whirling around her new revelation, but her heart now feeling lighter than it had in months. All this confusion she felt over her feelings concerning the white-haired Phantom and the blue-eyed dream boy was meaningless…because the people she cared about was actually one person! Sam had a feeling that this information may have seemed skewed to anyone else, but to her it made perfect sense! Before she had a chance to examine and revel in her feelings any further though, a crash from above caught her attention and she heard a muffled thump outside the large balcony to the left of the bed. She hurried over and pulled back the curtains to reveal two figures outside, one smaller and tumbling down the slanted roof and the other larger and advancing…a sword in one hand and a mirror in the other.

Sam let out a gasp that was half angry and half horrified as she yanked open the balcony doors ignoring the furiously blowing wind as she leaned over the railing. She could see the snowy-haired Danny Phantom lying crouched on the roof, clutching his stomach and Dash Baxter sneering above him with a sword that was dripping a green fluid that Sam recognized from the night she had almost ran away. All the fear fled her body then, seeing the sight of a hurt and obviously despondent Danny ready to just give up to that domineering, boorish excuse of a man igniting an angry flame that showed in her heliotrope gaze. Ignoring any voice of reason in the back of her head, Sam hitched up her skirt and climbed over the railing, stepping carefully onto the angled roof, determined to get to Danny, three roofs down. Or, at least, let him know that she was here and that she didn't want him to die.

She crawled to the edge of the roof and leaned over to the end, taking in a deep breath and screamed, loud enough to carry over the wind. "DANNY!!!"

She smiled as those empty green eyes looked up in surprise at her, asking silently what on Earth she was doing here. She just shook her head with a laugh before her teary-violet eyes locked back onto his wondering ones…do you even have to ask, you idiot? And then, lo, he smiled back and raised himself to his knees, eyes glowing with something that Sam couldn't identify, but something that warmed her heart despite the wind's chill. The moment was ruined though when Dash turned around and narrowed his dull blue eyes angrily at the sight of Sam coming for the halfa…she was supposed to stay captive in her home after all.

"Samantha," Dash called out both cockily and angrily as he turned his back on Danny and began striding towards the dark-haired girl, not privy to the sight of those neon green eyes narrowing at his back…or the growl that the halfa emitted. "Are you here to watch me finish off this monster? He's really not all that tough, don't know what that old guy was so worried about!"

"I said it once, Dash, and I'll say it again," Sam shouted as she raised herself to her knees and clenched her fists at her sides. "The only monster I see is _you!_ I would never come to see you, even if you were the last thing on Earth!"

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Dash yelled back, his whole body trembling in rage. "You'd choose this pathetic thing over me?!"

"Dash, _darling_…I'd choose a cockroach over you," Sam answered in a hiss, not at all afraid of much closer he was to her now…he may be stupid, but the boy could certainly put those muscles to good use. Sam took a step back towards the balcony as he clambered up onto her rooftop, her hands clutching the railing for balance, but not relinquishing the hateful look on her face as she surveyed the blonde dunce.

"I'll teach you to talk back to your future husband!" Dash yelled angrily as he pulled back his hand, heedless of the now downright wrathful green eyes floating behind him. Before he could snap his hand forward, a cold and slim hand wrapped around his thick wrist, and a cold voice echoing in his ear with a chilly rage that made Dash's knees tremble slightly.

"You. Will. Not. Touch. Her!"

Dash felt himself tossed from the roof and landed with an oof on a flatter rooftop a story down, scrambling to get a good hold on his sword. When he rolled back into a defensive stance, Dash was met with a floating Phantom, a glowing green flowing around his hands and body in tendrils. Dash could see the deep gash he had caused in the Phantom's abdomen was still leaking that strange, green goo, but it seemed the halfa didn't feel it anymore against other emotions. Overall, the Phantom made for a pretty terrifying image, his cape floating and whipping behind him due to the wind, and the blonde man let out a terrified squeal when green tendrils started to wrap around his arms and ankles. A hand shot out and Dash found himself face to face with the green-eyed halfa, his own hands going to the hand around his neck that were lifting him off the ground.

"I want you to leave," the Phantom hissed out as he surveyed the kicking human before him. "I want you to leave this castle, leave this township, and leave _her_ alone for the rest of your natural born life…do you understand me? She doesn't belong to you, and you're done hurting her."

"Y-y-yes!" Dash gasped out before he felt himself dropped to the rooftop again. He looked up, as he wheezed in an effort to get air into his lungs again, and noticed that the Phantom had already turned away from him and was floating back up to the balcony where Sam was. The blonde didn't waste another second debating, but instead gather up his sword and dropped the mirror to the ground, hastening to the nearest window he could find. Sure, maybe he had made a deal with that old guy, but frankly, he cared more about his own neck than others.

Danny didn't bother to watch the blonde man scramble away from him, he had seen it enough times from other people to know what it looked like, and floated back up to his parent's balcony. It was strange; he hadn't even thought their rooms were accessible ever since he collapsed most of the West wing besides his own quarters with a Ghostly Wail early on in his transformation. Apparently they were though, as Sam was standing in their room and looking at a painting of all four of them after his sister's twelfth birthday. He could still hardly believe that she was here, physically here, and had risked a mini war outside to see him…the thought made butterflies go rampant in his stomach. She turned around and locked her beautiful amethyst eyes with his own green eyes, that same smile from the balcony still playing on her lips; a smile that seemed to playfully tease him because it knew something he didn't.

"You…came back?" Danny asked in a quiet voice, whispering in case this was a dream and speaking any louder would drive the dream away.

"Well, obviously I have if I'm standing right here,' Sam answered with a laugh as she walked away from the painting, stopping only inches from him. "You look surprised."

"I didn't think you would come back."

"Have that little faith in me?"

"NO! I just…no one's ever come back before…"

"Well, I'm not just anyone, Mr. Phantom, and you know that. I paint, like wearing pants, and have an extensive vocabulary…I'm vastly different from my fellow females."

"You have to make everything a joke…and why are smiling at me like that?"

"Because, I just figured something out…something that's been bothering me for a while."

"And what's that?"

"I've been dreaming about you, Danny Phantom, and I never knew it was you until I saw this painting…and I find it funny that I couldn't figure out that the black-haired, blue-eyed boy I always saw was you…"

Danny's eyes widened slowly as he glanced at the painting and then back at Sam; she had been dreaming about him? How was that possible? He had only known one person who had been able to see things through dreams and she was dead, wasn't she? He looked back at Sam and asked in a clumsy way, "You've been dreaming about me? Why?"

"I don't know myself," Sam answered as her brow furrowed slightly before shrugging the question off and smiling at the green-eyed halfa before her, tilting her head to the side as she regarded him. "But, I do think I know what they were supposed to do…they were supposed to lead me to you…to help you with whatever this curse is that you have and don't bother to deny it! A floating boy with an enchanted castle, a surly demeanor and a mysterious explanation for everything…it wasn't hard to figure out."

"I don't know if you can help me, Sam," Danny answered, looking down at the floor until he felt two warm hands wrap around his cold ones and he looked back up into those beautiful purple irises. "But…but I wish you could."

"Danny…I want to tell you something…I think I--"

Before Sam could finish her sentence, a loud BOOM sounded from below and Danny felt his breath turn to that frosty, blue smoke…he knew who waited for him downstairs. He looked over at Sam, who had a bewildered look on her face as she studied the floor, and made up his mind before he had a chance to change it. He wrapped his arms around her and floated her up and through several floors (ignoring her surprised yelps of course) until he touched down in his room. He looked at her for a moment before steeling himself…he would not allow her to be hurt because of him.

"Sam, I need you to stay in here…Plasmius is downstairs and he's waiting for me. He'll hurt you if he knows you're here."

"But, I can help--"

"Please Sam!" Danny pleaded with her as he unhooked his arms from around her. And before he lost his nerve he looked her in the eye and closed the distance between them. "Sam…whatever happens, I will never regret meeting you or anything that brought. You were right about me and what I was…and it's because of you that I was able to change and feel alive again…"

"Danny…"

"I love you, Sam. Please don't ever forget that or me."

And before she had a chance to respond, he pressed his lips to hers gently, in a kiss that tried to convey all that he could not. It lasted only for a second, a simple confession that was all he had to offer her, fear, hope, and love all wrapped into one. It was all he had to offer her, and he hoped that she would keep it with her the rest of her life…a keepsake that would outlast time itself and be everything he couldn't be for her. He pulled away and phased through the floor before those eyes caught him again, because then he knew he wouldn't be able to leave, and was prepared to face his destiny, whatever that may be.

Sam stood frozen for a moment after Danny disappeared, a hand going to touch her lips before she fixed her eyes on the floor that the Phantom had disappeared through. She could feel tears spring into her eyes…why did that kiss feel like a good-bye? She let out a choked sob and whirled around, her fists clenching at her sides…but a soft violet light induced her to open her eyes. Sam felt her gaze fall on the beautiful violet rose she had first seen when she had sneaked into Danny's room all those months ago…but…that wasn't the first time she had seen it! The rose in the glass case was wilting and seemed to be only seconds away from dying…and Sam let out a gasp and her eyes went wide as her mind pieced together the last pieces of the puzzle pieces.

_Two boys, white and black, blue and green, entwined together as one._

_She called out, not really sure what, just called and called, hoping to be heard…but no one came. She looked back at her surroundings and noticed that the grass was dying and the flowers wilting…the land was dying._

_He turned around and fixed vividly blue eyes on her before smiling and turning about to run again…he wanted her to follow him._

_She was surrounded by the beautiful purple roses from her dreams…_

…_and then all the roses withered away, and he was calling for her to lead him out of the forest…out of the darkness…_

Danny…and this rose…they were the same. That was why Sam kept getting the visions…this rose that was almost withered away was a symbol of what was happening to Danny…he was dying. Sam looked at the rose and narrowed her eyes as she lifted off the glass case and grasped the rose, not caring if the thorns pricked her or not…she'd be damned if the first person she loved died. Before Sam could move though, the rose glowed a bright violet and all the petals began blossoming back to life…as if the simple declaration had inspired the decay to fade away…maybe that was what Danny needed then too.

"Damn ghosts…always sinking through the floor," Sam muttered to herself before she hurried out the door of Danny's room and hurried down the hallway…hurried towards Danny.

And somewhere, a clock chimed midnight.

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I'm very sorry everyone for the month wait again…and for the apparent shortness of this chapter. Honestly, I'm tackling about 17 credit hours this semester and have very limited time to write anything recreational when you factor in work as well. I hope everyone's not to upset with me…good news is this story's over in about three chapters! Unlucky thirteen some may say, but I think it has a certain mystique about it!

The chapter may seem short, but believe me, this was all I had planned for chapter ten. What happened between Dash and Danny, Danny's big fight with Vlad, Valerie's with Skulker, where Tuck and Jazz are, Sam's ability to see ghosts, and Sam's dreams will all be explained next chapter…and the other stuff will be wrapped up in the next. This chapter is more of a revelation chapter on Sam and Danny…plus there's some fluff for all you guys!

Thanks to everyone again for reviewing! Please continue to do so and feed my uncooperative muses with motivation to finish this story! Until next time!

Osco


	11. Chapter Eleven

_**Withering (11/13)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Eleven: _The Twelfth Hour_**

Turning away from those wide and confused violet eyes was one of the hardest things Danny had ever had to do in all his one hundred and sixteen years of existence. Those eyes, which had held him in a kind of spell ever since they had first latched onto his own irises, nearly made him forget everything he still had to do to ensure that events would not turn for the worst after his…after midnight. Maybe his own fate was set, and while that thought ignited sadness within him, Sam's sudden appearance had eased it to an ache he could ignore. He had business to attend to with Vlad Plasmius and his own end didn't matter as long as everything was made right for everyone else involved in this mess.

Danny pressed a hand to the wound on his abdomen and winced as he phased through the walls and floors of his castle, pulling the hand back to survey the green residue left on it from his still leaking injury. The cut the large blonde had given him wasn't that bad, and was even relatively shallow for a wound delivered with sword that large, but it was long and stung something terrible. The blonde, who Sam had later identified as Dash, hadn't been to happy when Danny had blatantly ignored his "you monster, must die" speech and had retaliated in the only way he had known how.

Danny had been vaguely impressed with how quickly the blonde had crossed his room, sword pulled back and eyes wild with violence, but that feeling faded to a sharp pain and awareness when that blade had swung down and slashed him across his stomach. He didn't remember if he made a sound or not, and he really wasn't sure if he lashed out in instinct but the next thing he knew, he had been thrown out his window and was struggling to push himself up with shards of glass all around him. He had been cut up and scraped all over from that glass, and the wound on his abdomen from the blonde's blade was slowly but surely leaking out his green blood at a steady pace. As soon as he had been able to right his body, his face was met with a rather large fist and he had been thrown even farther onto the rooftop.

He had listened faintly to the angry words Dash had been yelling at him all the while advancing on his prone and weary form, weary for more than just his wounds. He had looked up to see and ugly sneer on that otherwise good-looking face and felt his heart drop further into his stomach when he saw the blonde was clutching a glowing mirror in his hands…the very same mirror Danny had given to Sam a month ago when she had departed. Given to her so she could remember him after he was gone and maybe, just maybe, think fondly of him from time to time. Had she given the mirror to this man so he could go and kill the monster who had kept her captive for over five months? It was a horrible thought, and part of his mind insisted that the purple-eyed girl would never do something so hurtful, but the other part, the part that had lived a hundred years in rejection, couldn't help but think it.

The blonde had kept sneering at him and had raised his sword, ready to deliver the final blow that would end his pathetic existence, when a voice had screamed his name over the howl of the wind. His head had snapped up of its own volition, something deep inside him recognizing that voice even though his logical mind reasoned it was impossible for her to be here. But, lo and behold, there she was, perched on a rooftop some three stories above him, her deep violet eyes staring at him and commanding him to not just sit there and wait for his half-life to end. What on Earth was he doing here? More importantly, how had she even gotten here? His disbelief and confusion must have shown in his eyes to her because then she laughed and shook her head, shooting him a look that asked him why he had to ask himself that question.

That sharp pain that had gripped his very being faded away, and he unwittingly let a small smile grace his boyish features, lighting up his vivid green eyes with a light that had been absent for the past month. She came back…she had actually returned to him of her own will! That beaten down tendril of hope began to infuse his whole body at the sight of her small frame waiting for him some rooftops above, the wind whipping her black hair around her beautiful face and a caring smile being directed at him. He could care less if that smile wasn't filled with the exact feeling she had for her…just the idea of her caring for him at all when he was nothing but a halfa was enough for him.

It was another few moments before his awareness spread beyond himself and the girl who had yanked him out of his shell to notice that the blonde Dash was no longer hovering above his kneeling body. It took less than a moment to see his powerful frame making its way towards Sam though, and even less time to notice the angry and disgusted look on Sam's face as she surveyed his attacker. It took Dash's hand to be raised before Danny felt rage flood his system and he clenched his glowing green fists at the audacity this man had to raise his hand to _his_ Sam. All the weariness and hurts faded away to nothing and he had flown up to grab that hand and yank the blonde around to look into his glowing eyes.

"You. Will. Not. Touch. Her!"

He had tossed the blonde away from Sam and flown down to fight him, careful to not let his rage envelope him and kill the man, no matter how much he may have deserved it. The rest of the fight had ended almost as soon as it had begun, Danny scaring the blonde man into submission with a few harmless tendrils of ectoplasm and ordering him to never bother Sam again…and had left him trembling on the roof to rot for all he cared.

Another sharp pang from his abdomen brought Danny back to his current dilemma as he quickly made his way to the grand entrance of the manor, and where he was certain Plasmius awaited him. The cut hadn't been that serious of an injury, but it was enough to slow him down and that would be all the red-eyed sorcerer would need to cut him down. Danny narrowed his green eyes and formed the green energy around his fists, angrily forcing his body and mind to forget his injuries and only focus on protecting everyone he had left who he cared about.

He had to make sure his sister got out of this all right for all the times she put up with his attitude and tantrums and all that she sacrificed to make him happy. She deserved to be happy for once in her life, free of the worry she had constantly thanks to him, and live her life only for herself. He knew she was probably doing everything she could to protect him even now, maybe even trying to challenge Plasmius in order to buy him the time he needed to say good-bye to Sam and leave her. He wouldn't let her down anymore.

He had to make sure Tucker got out of this mess unscathed enough so he could finally act on his feelings towards Jazz and not worry about Danny's reaction. It wasn't fair to the dark-skinned young man that he too had to put his life on hold for Danny and had been doing so for a hundred years. Maybe Danny once would have been angry at the love between his older sister and best friend, angry because he knew he would have what they had, but…but now he only wished they could have a chance. He would make sure his best friend had that chance.

He had to make Valerie proud and support that unwavering faith she always seemed to have in him, even when he had no faith in her. She had never once left his side and wasn't afraid to give up everything to make him as happy as he could be given their circumstances. She had given up a comfortable life, and she had given up him, all for an unknown that had turned horrible, but never once blamed Danny for it. He had always admired her for that strength, and now he had a chance to prove to himself that she had been right for having that faith in him for so long.

And…and he had to make sure Sam didn't get hurt by Plasmius because Danny had fallen in love with the violet-eyed girl who hadn't once given up on a monster who had given up on himself. She too had given up on a life of comfort for one she could have no idea how it ended, and at first, he had hated her most for it. How could she face what had become of her life with nothing more than annoyance at him that quickly morphed into a grudging acceptance and then a subtle caring that was hidden behind smirks and teasing? How could she bear to not give in to his despair and vow to make him feel what it was like to be alive again?

He had never hated her, he knew that now, but had loved her with all that he had within him to love with. He loved the way her eyes would light up when she had bested him with a word or look that would cause him to stutter and blush like some lovesick fool. He loved how she never backed down when he yelled at her, but rather yelled right back and refused to leave. He loved that she hated wearing dresses and would often steal his trousers from the washers and leave him her skirts, winking at him as she waltzed around the palace wearing his pants with a smile. He loved the honest way in which she spoke, and even more so how her eyes reflected everything she was feeling for only him to see.

And…he loved how she had come back, even when she didn't have to, and give him one last gift of humanity before he died.

He would not, could not, let Plasmius hurt this sparkle of light in his otherwise dark life, and he didn't care if he had to die in order for him to keep his promise. It was almost midnight as it were, if he had to go, he would do so in a way that made sure the people he loved were kept safe from a madman who had ripped so much away from them already. He knew his sister, Tuck, and Val would miss him, as well as most of the household, but maybe with Vlad dead, maybe their curse would reverse and they could finally live the lives they were meant to live. As for Sam…he knew she would miss him, and maybe wouldn't be able to forgive him for sacrificing his life to save everyone else; she'd call him an idiot-martyr with angry tears in her eyes and would probably hit him a couple of times. But, as long as she was safe in the end, he was okay with her being angry at him…yes; yes he was okay with that.

Danny was shocked out of his thoughts as he finally entered the mess of the main foyer and he flew down to land on the floor. He could see the dazed villagers lying about while the majority seemed keen on getting away as fast as they could, while his subjects and friends battled within weapons. None looked hurt to bad, probably an effect from fighting within the steel weapons and being able to float away should a villager prove troublesome, but he could tell they were getting tired. Without thinking of the consequences, Danny cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted for his people to cover their ears, the only warning before he let out a wailing screech that knocked the villagers off their feet. If the stubborn villagers hadn't thought about leaving yet, that ghostly wail was all they needed before high-tailing it out of there, screaming and yelling that they didn't want to lose their lives to the 'Phantom!'

Danny put a hand to his head afterwards, feeling slightly dizzy and a little nauseous after using his Wail while injured and tired, but quickly shook it off and started to head deeper into the manor, towards the ballroom, where he heard fighting still going on. It didn't take him long to get to the ballroom, he could phase through walls after all, and he narrowed his eyes at what he found there. He could see a fierce looking Valerie fighting off one of Plasmius's henchmen, Skulker the Hunter, with Tucker and a band of his subjects firing arrows at more villagers to try and get them to leave. Valerie wasn't what concerned him though, as she was the most capable warrior in the entire castle and was handling a frustrated looking Skulker with relative ease. No…the sight of his sister attempting to fight off a very human looking Vlad Plasmius was what made his blood boil and provoked him into zipping over the fighting crowds and land protectively in front of his sister, arms holding her to him and preventing anything from hitting her.

"Danny?!" Jazz asked with wide eyes and a disbelieving tone to her voice. "What are you doing here?! You need to get out of here, Plasmius will--"

"Jazz…get those villagers out of here and make sure Sam's all right," Danny responded. His voice was calm but steady, unwavering in its decision and his eyes gazed coolly at his sister to let her know she couldn't change his mind and was wasting time trying to do so. He could see the protest rising on her lips, but he shook his head and placed two fingers over her mouth to silence her.

"No, you have to let me do this, Jazz…I'm the only who can. He's not going to stop attacking everyone here, even after the curse takes a hold of me, and I can't let anything else happen to everyone because of me…please understand Jazz."

She didn't understand, he could see that, but he couldn't take up any more time with this. He placed a gentle kiss to his older sister's temple before shoving her away and calling to Tucker to lead her out and away from the battle. His bespectacled friend looked up in shock and denial, just as against this decision of his as Jazz was, but he complied reluctantly when Danny gave him a look. Danny knew that Tucker would listen to him, however resisting, and he turned his body around to face a smirking man with slick silver hair and cold blue eyes.

"I think it's time that we ended this, Plasmius," Danny said coolly. He didn't feel any fear this time, facing the monster who had single-handedly ruined his family's life for nothing more than jealously and pure spite. The same calm feeling Sam had given him on the rooftop was still flowing through his veins, infusing him with the hope that, for better or worse for him, everything was going to turn out all right in the end and his people would finally be free.

"Daniel…looking a little worse for wear, aren't we?" was the reply. Plasmius's eyes cruelly narrowed as they studied the slender halfa's battered and bruised physique, taking note of the sword wound he had across his stomach that was still and angry red against the younger man's pale skin. "Well, this certainly makes my job a lot easier, my boy."

"Don't be so sure, _Vlad_," Danny replied. His voice had dropped an octave, still retaining the calmness he had but coming out as more of a growl than a conversational voice. "After all, if my father could best you, I think I can manage."

The human glamour that had encased Plasmius melted away, revealing the startling black streaked hair and glowing red eyes that were the older man's true form. The stylish clothes of a merchant faded into the all white suit and cape, a mockery of purity and goodness, while glowing magenta energy formed around the sorcerer's hands as he glared balefully at Danny. The green-eyed halfa smirked at the obviously angry man, proud that his comment of his dad beating Plasmius as a young man still stung the monster's pride.

"I think I'll enjoy breaking your spirit before I collect it," Vlad hissed out in anger.

"Well, try if you can…I just don't see that happening."

"So sure, Daniel? As that little girl changed so much in five months to erase a hundred years?"

"If she has, you wouldn't understand!"

"Ah yes…because I don't understand _love_, correct? Ha, Daniel, you do humor me with your romantic notions and naïve beliefs."

"It doesn't matter what you think about me…I won't let you hurt her and I'll die if I have to in order for that to happen." Plasmius let out a cruel laugh at Danny's heartfelt promise, eliciting a pair of green eyes to narrow angrily at the sound and the man making it.

"Oh Daniel," Plasmius began with a cruel smirk now instead of a cruel laugh. "You never fail to amuse me…you are going to die anyway tonight, and yet you still swagger around, bargaining your pathetic existence as if it's your own! My dear boy, have you forgotten that I've owned your life ever since your sixteenth birthday, all those years ago? I merely have loaned it to you, but now it's time to pay up…did you really think some maiden would come along and give it back to you? No matter how much you claim to care about this girl, she will never be able to give you back what you want most!"

"That's where you're wrong, Vlad," Danny said softly. He looked up with glowing eyes, glowing for more than just his power and a soft smile on his face. "She did give me back what I most wanted…and it's nothing you can take away from me. Maybe when she first came here, and all those years before, I was looking to get my life back, because I thought that would make me happy. I thought it would bring back a time when everything was as it had been and I didn't have to worry about anything other than myself. But, it didn't, and for a long time, I couldn't figure out why.

"And then this slip of a girl shows up, insulting me at every chance she gets and generally making my half life a headache and an annoyance, but then something changed. She cared about me and refused to give up on 'restoring my humanity' as she called it. And then, lo and behold, I started to care about her, a girl who didn't seem to care that I was half dead and living in a messy castle with a bunch of undead looking servants, but only wanted to see me smile. You see Vlad, Sam gave me something better than my life back…she gave me hope in myself and a faith in humanity that I had thought lost.

"She gave me my soul back…and no matter what your curse seems to claim, nothing will change the fact that I've already given my soul to her for caring about me when she didn't have to. So, you see, all those other times we fought, I was fighting for myself to try and get something back that I thought was mine…but now, I'm fighting you to make sure you don't try to take something that isn't mine, but in the hands of someone I love."

Danny's soliloquy seemed to enrage the man before him, drawing out an undignified snort and glare from the usually collected man. "It seems my luck just never changes…all this time invested into making you suffer and one Gypsy brat comes along and ruins it all."

"Gypsy?" Danny asked. He was confused…Sam wasn't a gypsy as far as he knew and she had never said anything to suggest that she was. He knew his mother had descended from gypsy blood…maybe Plasmius had lost what was left of his sanity and had no slipped into the past, seeing Danny as his father and Sam as his mother.

"Yes…didn't you ever wonder why that human had the ability to see everyone in the castle as if they were nothing but ghosts?" Plasmius asked with a sneer. "That brat as gypsy blood from her grandmother…a most annoying trait that never fails to make my spells go awry from my goals. Your dear mother, my Maddie, had the gift as well…and she used it to make sure my spell over you wouldn't work!"

"What are you talking about, you crazed up fruit loop?!" Danny asked angrily, having no idea where the peculiar name he called Plasmius came from.

"Don't you see, Daniel? My spell was meant to kill you and your idiotic father all those years ago, but you foolish mother prevented that with some last minute prayer that trapped your parents' souls and gave you a half-life and a hundred years to find someone to break the spell! But, your mother wasn't finished yet, so it would seem, she reached out to another of gypsy blood, someone whose lineage was even more ancient than hers, and guided _her_ to you!"

Plasmius's face was red with rage, but Danny was too lost in thought to really notice. Sam's ability to see Jazz and everyone in their ghostly forms, her strange dreams, and the purple eyes…it all suddenly made sense. He remembered a conversation they had over dinner one time, when they had been discussing their parents and Sam had mentioned that she had taken after her strange grandmother on her mother's side, something that irked her mother to no end for some reason. Sam had mentioned learning strange games and nursery rhymes from her violet-eyed grandmother…a grandmother who was constantly traveling and always bringing Sam back trinkets from around the world.

That was why Sam was able to have those dream visions like his mother used to have…they both were descended from gypsy lines and his mother had reached out to Sam despite being trapped somewhere. His eyes lit up with a happiness at the knowledge that his parents weren't dead…they were trapped somewhere, but they weren't dead! He knew Jazz would find them, somehow after this was all over, and he gathered his energy into his hands as he brought his fiery gaze back p to Vlad Plasmius.

"How about we end this now, Plasmius?"

"It's about time, Daniel."

Their two blasts, green and magenta mingled together, met and flung both back at the force they created. Danny quickly brought up shields to protect himself from the barrage of magenta beams he had come towards him, which multiplied as Plasmius split into three clones. Danny quickly took out the clones, able to differentiate them from the original due to the increased amount of ectoplasm that surrounded them, but wasn't able to block a beam that hit him squarely in the chest, flinging him into a wall. He rolled out of the way of another blast, flying into the air and landing a kick backed with green ectoplasm on Plasmius's back, sending the man crashing towards the ground. Plasmius swooped back up and shot out a blast that Danny was able to dodge by twisting his body.

They continued in this fashion for a bit, both floating to the ground eventually in pants and aching all over from various injuries…Danny more so as his stomach wound had begun to bleed green ectoplasm once again. Danny glanced to a clock that was hanging in the room, miraculously untouched by the destruction happening all around it, and paled when he noticed he had the better part of five minutes to finish his fight with Plasmius before the curse solidified and killed him fully. He knew what to do, it was the only thing that would take out Plasmius, but he knew in his condition he wouldn't survive it…but that didn't matter.

Danny sucked in a huge breath while surrounding himself with green energy, preparing to let out a Ghostly Wail that was different from all the rest…ignoring the protesting look of fear and anger forming in Plasmius's eyes. He, apparently, didn't think that Danny was going to be willing to do this in his condition, but it wouldn't be the first time Plasmius had underestimated him.

"You fool! You'll kill us both!"

_I don't care_ was all that Danny thought before releasing a monstrous Wail, pouring all of the energy he had gathered from himself into the attack and sending it hurling into Plasmius. He could hear the sorcerer screaming in denial and pain as the Wail ripped him to shreds, but Danny couldn't focus on anything but making sure he kept the Wail strong. He had only tried this attack once, afterwards his sister had forbade him from doing it again as it used up what was left of his half-life and brought him closer to death, but it was the only left that worked. His entire body was going weak, the searing pain he had felt originally fading into a cold numbness as his body began to shut down…but he didn't stop the Wail until he no longer heard Plasmius's screeching.

His voice eventually died into a hoarse shout as he collapsed to the ground, eyes noticing with a grim smile that nothing but a pile of ectoplasm was left of Vlad Plasmius, a ruby pendant alone surviving the devastation of Danny's attack. He could feel what was left of his life slowly trickling out of his body, but it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would…it was peaceful. Like going to sleep after an exhausting day…it wasn't so bad. He could hear the clock begin to chime midnight and a voice screaming his name…but it was all right…everything was going to end up okay just like he planned.

_First Chime._

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Sam had hurried down the stairs as soon almost as soon as Danny had sunk through the floors, the purple rose clutched in her hand and nothing but getting to Danny going through her mind. She had marveled how much faster she had been able to navigate herself out of the West wing than it had taken her to get up there, and before she knew it, was sprinting through one of the main hallways that led to the main entrance of the castle. She could hear some of the ghostly servants shouting their alarm at seeing her, after all, Valerie had practically snuck her in under everyone's noses, but she couldn't spare any time to shout back a hello…there was something inside her gut that was telling her she needed to hurry.

When she reached the main foyer, all that was left were a few moaning villagers and some running, well, floating ghost-servants as they hurried away from another room…the ballroom. Sam stuck the rose in her mouth for a moment and reached down, tearing off a good portion of her dark skirt until it only reached above her knees. Discarding the fabric and plucking the rose out of her mouth, Sam hurried towards the ballroom where she and Danny had danced, able to run much faster now that her stupid skirt wasn't as long and hindering her legs. She had just reached the large double doors when she heard a scream of denial, one that belonged to Jazz, echo through the walls. Without wasting any time, Sam pushed open the doors and ran inside, dodging scared villagers and horrified looking ghosts to reach a crumpled heap on the ground with snowy-white hair.

She could see a now human Tucker holding a hysterical looking Jazz in his arms as tears poured down his face as he gazed at that green covered body. She could see a lost looking Kwan holding a crying Star as their curses melted away, leaving humans standing where ghosts had once been. Bodiless weapons dropped to the ground, leaving sad and broken looking soldiers and servants, all very much human. And, Sam could see a beautiful warrior standing by Danny's side, looking at her with such an intensity that the purple-eyed girl wondered if Valerie was always a serious person, human or not.

Sam slid to her knees next to Danny's broken form, wrapping her arms around his thin shoulders and resting his head on her shoulder. "Danny?! Come on Danny, open your eyes!"

He did…only a bit, but they were glowing with so much happiness that it didn't matter she could only barely see those irises. He smiled up at her and raised a shaky hand to her cheek, running his thumb over her skin as she leaned into his touch, the rose falling to the ground beside them as she reached up to hold his hand.

"You came back," was all Danny whispered with a smile, so quiet that Sam wondered if she had only imagined his voice and he had mouthed the words.

_Second Chime._

"Of course I did, idiot!" Sam responded with a teary laugh, trying to plaster a smile on her face for his benefit, but not quite managing it. "I couldn't let you just run away after…after everything!"

"I'm happy I at least got to see you…thank you so much for everything, Sam."

_Third Chime_.

"Danny, don't go, everything's going to be fine! We're together again, don't leave me!"

_Fourth Chime._

"Plasmius is dead…he can't hurt you…"

_Fifth Chime._

"Danny, come on…I need you to look at me!"

"I—I love you, Sam…"

_Sixth Chime._

"Danny!"

_Seventh Chime._

Danny's eyes rolled back and his hand dropped heavily to the ground, completely lifeless and colder than usual. Sam's eyes widened as the tears rolled down her cheeks and she wrapped her arms around his still body tighter, burying her face in his snowy white hair.

_Eighth Chime._

"Danny…you can't do this to me! Please, please, don't leave me alone! Danny!"

_Ninth Chime._

"You stupid idiot! Don't you understand anything? Can't you see how I feel about you? How can you just decide to go and die and leave me here?!"

_Tenth Chime._

"I won't let you go…Danny, Danny, do you hear me? I'm not letting you go!"

_Eleventh Chime._

"Open your eyes you dumb ass…I love you so much, Danny! Please, please open your eyes, love!" A pair of warm lips presses up against cold ones.

_Twelfth Chime._

…

…

…

The rose, forgotten to all, started to glow and rise off the ground, a light in a similar shade swirling around it and around the kneeling pair on the ground. Sam looked up with teary eyes as the lights began to surround Danny, lifting him away from her and off the ground. She, like the others still present in the ballroom, could do nothing but stare in awe at the sight before them. Sam raised herself to her feet with Valerie's help, pushing her hair away from her face as the wind from outside swept into the ballroom and began whipping around the people, causing many to divert their eyes. But Sam couldn't do anything but keep her violet eyes on the sight above her.

The rose was hovering above Danny was sending out these colorful blasts of violet, splashing the ground and swirling around Danny's limp body. Sam could see the light around Danny's legs vanish, leaving two slightly tanned feet and then the same around his arms. The hair turned from snowy white to a raven black, and the face was no longer pale as death but rather slightly tanned hue of someone alive. The rose let out one final blast of violet as it lowered Danny back to the ground, falling to the ground and only looking as if it had been plucked from a garden.

Sam was he first to break out of her trance and slowly made her way towards Danny's still, very much human, body, but paused with a gasp as he stirred. He shakily pushed himself to his knees, one hand wrapped around his stomach and the other used to push his slender body to his feet. He opened his eyes to reveal two deep blue eyes and stared into Sam's awe-filled face with an expression of wonder and surprise. He raised his arm to see a faint red stain on his white shirt, immediately bringing his hand to his eyes to examine it thoroughly. He brought his eyes back up to Sam after he had examined himself; eyes filled with tears of his own as he smiled shakily…there would only be one reason why he was human again and not dead.

"Sam?"

Sam couldn't contain herself any longer, letting out a shaky but happy laugh and hurrying over to wrap her arms around Danny's neck, nearly knocking them both to the floor with the force of her embrace. He let out a laugh of his own and wrapped his arms around her slim build, pressing her as close to him as he could, burying his face in her hair and hands clutching the loose fabric of her tunic. Sam pulled away and brushed some of Danny's black hair out of his face, smirking happily at her not-so-charming prince.

"I guess I broke the spell, didn't I?" Sam asked as she leaned in, stopping centimeters away from Danny's mouth and looking up into his eyes from under her lashes.

"Yes, yes you did!" Danny replied with a hoarse voice before closing the gap and covering her lips with his own. Sam threaded her hands through his hair, eagerly responding to the kiss with a smile as he slowly spun her around, deepening the kiss from chaste to something else. His lips were chapped, and were still much to cold for a healthy person, but nothing had ever felt so right in all her life…she had never belonged anywhere but where she was.

Neither one of them seemed to notice the cheering happening around them or the cat-calling by a select few, to wrapped up in each other's embrace to really care what was happening beyond the two of them. Yes, they both thought as they broke off the kiss only to smile at each other and join their lips once more, yes, maybe everything would be all right after all.

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Goodness…sorry everyone for the long delay, again! Good news, only two more chapters of this story left! I hope everyone was pleased with this chapter….I sure was! Please review and let me know what you thought everyone; I would love to reach 400 reviews for this story! I'll see you next update!

Osco


	12. Chapter Twelve

_**Withering (12/13)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Twelve: **_**One Last Thing**_

"You know, I think I took phasing through the wall for granted."

Sam looked up from her cleaning and smiled at the frustrated and tired looking young man beside her. His black hair was askew on his head, jutting out every which way and he kept pushing a stray lock out of his face. His skin was glistening with sweat, a proof of his hard work to clean up the manor, giving off a slight sheen on his peach-hued skin. The loose tunic and patched pants he had on were obviously too big for him, but he seemed determined to wear them, stating earlier that he wasn't going to wear fancy clothes while cleaning. Those beautifully blue eyes were narrowed in obvious frustration as he gazed around the room, trying to figure out where to go to next. All in all, Sam thought that Danny looked positively adorable. Not that she'd say something as corny as that though…but she could think it.

"Are you regretting me helping you turn back human again?" Sam asked with a smirk on her face, standing up and placing her hands on her hips. She almost laughed at the panic look that entered Danny's eyes but kept it in…laughing just wouldn't quite project the annoyance she was teasing him with.

"No!" Danny exclaimed with a vehement shake of his head. His surprise quickly deflated to a sort of dejection as he gestured around the room, dirty rag in one hand and the other snaking through his hair. "I just thought it'd be easier than this…"

Sam wrapped her arms around Danny's slim frame, all pretenses of teasing gone as she noticed the real frustration and sadness in Danny's voice. She knew what was bothering him, he had mentioned it before, but she couldn't do anything to help him but offer comfort and support. She honestly didn't hold anything against Danny or any of the other Fenton household, for struggling the past few days with being human again. After all, they had been trapped as undead for a hundred years! They were bound to be a little rusty.

But, as many times as Sam assured Danny of that, the logical words just seemed to fly straight from ear to ear.

"Well, at least you're not walking into walls today! See, it's a sign of improvement!" Sam said playfully. She gave him a reassuring squeeze before craning her head back and looking into his not-so-amused face. "Oh come on, Danny! It's not the end of the world. I don't know why it bothers you so much…you weren't exactly human for a hundred years. It's bound to be a little rough the first couple of weeks!"

"And what if it lasts longer than a couple of weeks?" Danny asked sullenly. His face had pulled into its customary pout that normally would have given the black-haired boy a cute appearance. Not this time though…his deep blue eyes were too sad to convey anything 'cute.'

"Then I'll just have to get used to your clumsiness, won't I?" Sam asked. She leaned up and brushed her lips against Danny's in a feather soft movement, flicking his nose one time for good measure as she released him and went back to her cleaning. Sam smiled triumphantly as a goofy grin spread across Danny's face, one that lasted for a good ten seconds before he realized what he was doing and blushed lightly in embarrassment. He rejoined her side a few more seconds later, smiling serenely as he helped her wipe the many layers of dust, grime, and ectoplasmic goo off the walls.

It had been a week since Danny had defeated Plasmius and Sam had broke the spell over the manor and its denizens, and only a few days since Danny had been able to get up and move around. Despite the regenerative properties turning back into a human seemed to have on the young prince, his wounds from his fights with Dash and Plasmius had left him physically exhausted for three and a half days. He had spent the majority of those three and a half days asleep, and when he wasn't asleep he was busy trying to fit as much food into his slim body as he possibly could. Of course, Sam had been ever present at his side, not that she'd go and broadcast that around, mind you.

True to their promise, Sam's parents had arrived at the manor early the morning after the battle, looking haggard and more than a little concerned for their daughter. After quite a lot of explaining, and a little bit of apologizing on Valerie's part for being so harsh the last time she had seen them, both her mother and father had decided to help with the massive clean-up. While most of the major damage had occurred in the main entrance and the ballroom of the manor, Sam's mother had insisted on making sure the entire manor sparkled…and she meant everything. Sam was happy her mother seemed content with distracting herself from everything strange that was going on; it pretty much meant she and her father didn't have to hear her complaints most of the time.

Her parents had been shocked to hear that Sam was in love, and by shocked she meant that her mother had nearly fell out of her chair and her father had bugged his eyes nearly out of his skull. Honestly, Sam didn't think it was that much of shock…and then neither did her parents when she explained that Danny was the Phantom who had captured her father earlier. Of course she had hastily assured them both that Danny had been cursed and was now one hundred percent human, which saved her mother from a potential debilitating heart attack. Sam figured it wouldn't hurt anyone to never let her mother know that her feelings wouldn't have changed if Danny was still half ghost…ignorance is bliss after all.

Danny had met them almost immediately after waking up, much to his own chagrin, and had proceeded to use every ounce of charm he had to balance out the 'testy' side Sam's father had met with all those months ago. Luckily for Danny, her father seemed to take the entire ordeal in stride, stating that he didn't blame Danny for being a little testy after so long. As for her mother, Sam only had to mention that Danny was technically the prince of Amity Park, as the town had been built on his family's land, and her mother had fell in love with him immediately. Naturally, both of Sam's parents had insisted in staying around to help make the manor presentable and currently her mother was in the gardens with Jazz while her father was helping Tucker in the library.

It all seemed a little surreal to Sam, that after so much mystery and danger everything was back to relative normality. Not that she was complaining, she had quite enough excitement with Danny almost dying to last for at least a few years, but it just seemed strange. Sam figured it wasn't anything to get concerned over, but the feeling of unfinished business still hadn't left, leaving her unsettled. She couldn't explain how she felt, it just felt like whatever she was supposed to do wasn't quite done yet. She must have drifted off into thought over the unsettled feeling because when Sam looked back up, a pair of worried looking blue eyes were staring at her.

"Sorry…guess I drifted off," Sam said with a sheepish smile.

"It's all right…thinking about anything interesting?" Danny asked with a gentle laugh.

"Only that it's hard to believe that after a hundred years of boredom, you guys couldn't muster up the energy to clean this place! Was this place this dirty when we danced in here?"

"I'll have you know it was clean," Danny answered with a huff. "I can't help it if everyone wanted to fight in here…and as for the rest of the manor, after fifty years you stop caring if the place looks dirty or not."

"Touché," Sam said with a smile. She tossed her dirty rag to the floor and leaned against the now clean wood surface, gazing out at the ballroom.

It really did look a lot better, considering how it had looked when she had first ran into the room during the entire mess. This room, without a doubt, had been the worst in the house…something that Sam contributed in part to Plasmius very messy demise in the room. She had heard what had happened from Jazz, how Danny had used his Wail to destroy Plasmius, nearly destroying himself in the process, and the red-eyed sorcerer had pretty much blown apart. Sam crinkled her nose when she still saw little spots of glowing magenta ectoplasm around the room…burst apart…that was just gross. Of course, there were traces of green ectoplasm as well thanks to Danny, but that didn't gross Sam out; he hadn't blown apart.

Sam couldn't say that she felt sorry for the sorcerer, in her mind, for cursing Danny the way he had for nothing more than revenge against his father Sam couldn't think of any better fitting demise. Still, it was a pain to clean up. Luckily, almost all of the mess was cleaned up and the only thing left over from Vlad Plasmius was some pendant of his that was currently being kept in the library. Danny didn't recognize it as one of his parents' but he thought it might lead to Plasmius' lair…and that would hopefully lead to a way to find Jack and Maddie Fenton.

"It does look better, right?" Danny asked, dragging Sam out of her short reverie yet again. He had a hopefully cautious look on his face and he fiddled with the dirty rag in his hands as he surveyed the room. "I mean, opposed to what it looked like before! This room is over a hundred years old after all, so it's never going to look a hundred percent but maybe it at least looks better than--"

"It looks fine, Danny," Sam interrupted. She placed her hand over Danny's mouth, effectively cutting off his nervous blabbering, before cupping his face and touching her lips to his. "Whoever you're planning on impressing will have nothing to complain about."

"I just want my parents to see that I didn't let the whole place go after they went missing," Danny replied.

"I'm sure they'll love it, whenever we find them," Sam said comfortingly. "I mean, Plasmius said something about your mom changing the curse that was on you, right? And she was sending me those dreams about you through gypsy blood…maybe she did something that was directed towards your dad and her. We just have to keep looking and I'm sure it'll come to us eventually."

Danny didn't reply, just nodded his head once and placed a chaste kiss to her forehead before walking over to meet his sister and Valerie as they walked into the room. Sam could hear Jazz mentioning that the ballroom looked great compared to what it had looked like, and Valerie mention that Tucker was looking for Danny. With a smile and a wave, Danny shouted that he'd be right back to Sam before exiting the room. He paused only for a moment outside the door as he remembered which set of ceilings and walls he would float through to get to the library. Jazz waved Sam to join her and Valerie out in the garden, stating that she had been cooped inside for much too long. After assurances that her mother was clear of the gardens, Sam canted her head in assent and dropped the other rag she had been using.

Sam started to head over, but stopped as a feeling of…something washed over her…like everything around her was slowing down and she was falling. It was dizzy and disorienting, churning her stomach as she tried to reach out for something to grab to keep her from plunge into…into something. She looked up and could faintly see Jazz and Val's blurry shapes heading over towards her, but it was as if she was looking at everything through watery eyes. Everything kept shifting and distorting around her…everything except a woman who Sam knew hadn't been in the room before.

Sam's eyebrows arched in question as the woman reached out her hand, beckoning Sam to either come to or follow her. What was she saying…what words was that mouth trying to speak to her? Sam opened her mouth to ask what she wanted, but her own words seemed stuck in her throat. Everything spiraled around the two of them, spinning everything else out of focus, and eventually, Sam couldn't even distinguish herself from the swirl. Sam tried to look up, but the woman wasn't there anymore…only a pendant of some kind that looked vaguely familiar. Sam closed here eyes to the whirling mass, trying to focus her thoughts which were whirling around as chaotically as her surroundings...

…

…

…

"SAM!"

Hearing someone scream her name, Sam jerked up to see everything in the room in focus and just where it was supposed to be. She looked over and saw Valerie holding her up while Jazz's hands were resting on her shoulders, shaking her and looking at her with concerned eyes. Sam gave her head, now aching with a killer headache, a slight shake and gently removed herself from both women's embraces. She closed her eyes once to tame the nauseous feeling in her stomach, but opening them did nothing to ease her unsettledness. Maybe it wasn't nausea…maybe it was something else. Sam narrowed her eyes and opened them slowly, wondering what the hell was going on with her now!

"Sam! Are you all right? Do you want me to fetch the doctor or take you to your room?" Jazz was worrying now…never a good thing.

"I'm fine, Jazz. I think I am at least…that was just so bizarre!" Sam put her fingers to her head and massaged her temples. Did she have another dream-vision? And if she did, why now? Why when she was awake and after Plasmius was defeated and with no chance of coming back?

"You don't look fine, Sam," Valerie stated bluntly. Her chocolate eyes stared at Sam coolly, taking in stock of Sam's unease and confusion as easily as someone could read the words from a book. "And typically, when someone nearly collapses to the ground and begins mumbling 'what do you want?' that's a sure sign that something's wrong." God, Sam hated how observant and blunt Valerie could be sometimes.

"She's right, Sam," Jazz said in a much gentler voice. "Just tell us what happened and maybe we can help you figure everything out too."

Sam sighed in defeat before telling the two other women everything she could remember. It wasn't easy to remember everything, only that everything got blurry and started spinning…and that there was a woman there. Sam couldn't even say what the woman looked like, only that she looked older than any of them and Sam couldn't ever recall seeing her face before. All three women settled into a contemplative silence as they each mulled over what Sam saw. It didn't help though, for when Sam looked up a few minutes later, both Jazz and Valerie looked just as confused as she did.

"I'm not sure what any of that means" Jazz murmured. Whether she was addressing the others or just talking to herself, Sam couldn't tell but nodded anyways. "But, I'm sure it's important. You had all those dreams about Danny that ended up being true, so maybe this daydream is just as important."

"But why? Plasmius is gone," Valerie said with an exasperated tone. "That, and the curse, were why Sam had those dreams in the first place! He said that himself, that Maddie Fenton reached out from wherever she is and helped all of us through Sam because of her gypsy blood. The curse is broken and Plasmius is dead…it doesn't make sense as to why Sam's having daydreams like this."

"Maybe the curse on Danny wasn't the only thing I was supposed to break," Sam said in a distracted tone, feeling an elusive thought skitter across her consciousness before fluttering out of reach. She tried to reach for it, feeling like it was the answer, but it was gone ere she could grab it again. "I don't know…I just feel like maybe we missed something."

"Well, I don't think we did," Jazz said. She looked over to Valerie, who shrugged in compliance, before looking back over to Sam, her turquoise eyes wondering and confused. "I mean, everyone's human again and that was what the curse did. Maybe after everything that's happened, you're just adjusting to normalcy again!"

"I guess," Sam said, unconvinced. "I just can't shake this unfinished feeling. It's so strange…I can't explain it." She went silent for another few moments and then heaved a frustrated sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "Ugh, I can't do this right now! I'm going to go upstairs…tell Danny where I went so he doesn't have a heart attack."

Without waiting from a response form either Jazz or Valerie, Sam turned about and stomped out of the room. She knew she would feel guilty later for taking out her frustration on the two of them when they only wished to help, but that was later and this was now. And now, all she wanted was to curl up in her room and hope her headache would vanish. She could always apologize when she wasn't so on edge. She stomped past cheerful looking servants on her way up to her room, not caring that most shot her concerned glances along the way. She reached her room, and after slamming the door shut, she collapsed face first on her bed and let out an irritated whine.

She lay still on the bed for countless minutes, trying to focus on her breathing, her heartbeat, anything but her stupid, stupid daydream. She heard the door creak open and shut moments later, but pretended she didn't, lying still and hoping she'd fall asleep. She finally acknowledged the other presence when she felt a dip in the bed, looking up to meet with a pair of half-concerned, half-annoyed eyes. These eyes were blue though, and staring put from under a busy head of black hair. Sam groaned in annoyance at Jazz and her mother-henish ways as she pushed herself up into a sitting position and proceeded to bury her head deeper within her arms, effectively ignoring Danny.

"So, Tucker asked me if it was all right to propose to Jazz," Danny began casually. Sam peeked out from behind her arms but refrained from saying anything. Past experience had taught her that whenever a person starts talking about a broad and random topic, it mean that they had something unpleasant to discuss with her. "Of course, I made him sweat a little before telling him it wasn't me he needed to ask. He seemed relieved until it dawned on him that he would actually have to ask Jazz."

"Sounds fascinating," Sam drawled, her voice no doubt muffled to Danny from behind her arms. In truth, she really was happy that Tucker and Jazz had stopped tip-toeing around the castle with their relationship, but Jazz had already told her that she thought Tucker was going to propose. That, and it really didn't surprise her…they had been making goo-goo eyes at each other ever since the curse had been lifted.

"Sam--"

"Is it too much to hope that Jazz only told you I was tired?" Sam interrupted dryly. She would have laughed at Danny's annoyed look but she didn't wish to be in bigger trouble than she probably already was.

"Yes," he answered tersely.

"Oh, well any hope you'll just forget what she told you and let me go back to my nap?"

"Sam," Danny repeated firmly. He held up his hand to signal Sam she should quit before she started to ramble. Sam sighed as she acknowledged that Danny was not going to quit wanting to talk to her about the dream; it was a lost cause. In one smooth moment she pushed herself up into a sitting position and leveled her gaze with the blue-eyed boy's.

"Fine, fine!" Sam exclaimed. She gave Danny a weak glare before words began pouring out of her mouth. "So I've been having weird feelings and today had a funny daydream, it's nothing to get all worried about! It just frustrates me because I keep feeling like I should know what it is that's bothering me, but I can't quite grasp it! Not to mention that my head feels like it's about to crack and I don't—Mmmphh!"

Sam's tirade was cut off when a pair of warm lips pressed gently upon her own, completing erasing any annoyance she had with anything in a matter of seconds. She leaned into the kiss and wrapped her arms around Danny's neck has he rested one hand at the back of her head and the other on the bed beside her hip. Danny pulled away slowly, Sam able to catch a smirk on his lips as she let out a playful groan. "Now that wasn't very fair, Daniel Fenton."

""Fair, shmaire," Danny said with a laugh as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind Sam's ear. "It got you to calm down and shut up, didn't it?"

"Keep talking and I'll show you 'fair,' Fenton," Sam teased back, fire in her eyes that wasn't entirely faked. She had to admit though, she felt considerably calmer now and her headache had all but vanished. She still felt that strange feeling, but it wasn't outweighing the warmth spreading from the tip of her nose, down to her toes. It was still strange to her that she had actually found someone like Danny, someone who made her feel so…alive. Especially since he had been half-dead for the majority of their acquaintance.

"Truth Danny," Sam began, twining her fingers around his own. "I really don't know what this dream I had means, whether it's because of the woman or the fact that I'm having dreams during the day while I'm awake. The woman, I think, is trying to tell me or show me something important, but I can't figure out what."

"Well, let me help," Danny replied as he squeezed her hand in reassurance. "I mean, that's what I'm here for…that among other things."

"Shameless."

"Always."

Sam grinned and placed a quick kiss on his lips before rising and stretching her arms over her head. She heard Danny launch back into his story of his and Tucker's exchange, suggesting that Sam could distract herself from her visions by helping Jazz make preparations. Sam was about to comment that she'd have a better time mucking slime from the pond when something caught her eye. The tapestry on her wall, the one that had been in Danny's parents' room that was of the Fenton family, caught her attention and she felt her eyes and mind widening in comprehension. The woman…she knew she had looked familiar for some reason and here it was! The woman sitting next to the large, smiling man was the same woman who was reaching out to her in the dream!

The woman…the pendant…it all made sense! The reason why she had been feeling like they missed something was because they had! They had been to busy with trying to get Danny better and cleaning up the manor, they had completely overlooked something deemed unimportant! Sam smiled to herself and whirled around, jogging out of the room and ignoring Danny's surprised yell asking where she was going. She could hear him behind her, and could here that others had joined in as well, but she kept running towards her destination, even when her mother's shrill voice entered the mix.

It didn't take her that long to get to the library, her knowledge of the different staircases and how to use them as opposed to walking through walls giving her an advantage over those chasing her. She pushed open the doors, surprising an _engaged_ Tucker and Jazz as they celebrated, and marched right past them to a small desk near the window. A red gleam caught her eye and Sam let out a relieved sigh that it hadn't been hidden away somewhere. She reached out and picked up the ruby pendant, the only thing of Plasmius' that survived the Wail, examining the brilliant gleam for a moment.

"Sam!" Sam heard Danny yell from behind her. "What are you doing! You don't know what that thing will do!"

Sam turned around, pendant still in hand, and smiled calmly at Danny. "Yes I do, Danny. This is what I've been feeling…we did leave something undone. I know how to get your parents back."

"What?!"

"Just trust me."

Danny hesitated for a second, but he nodded slowly and Sam gave him a reassuring smile. She was sure this is what her daydream was trying to tell her…at least ninety percent sure. Okay, now was not the time to start second guessing! With a deep breath, and one last pray that she was doing the right thing, Sam heaved the ruby pendant over her head and threw it down to the ground. It shattered in a rain of crimson, the walls looking as if they had been splattered with blood, and Sam could hear the shocked and horrified inhale of breath throughout the silent room. For one horrifying second, absolutely _nothing_ happened, only the still silence, and Sam began to try and think of some kind of witty remark.

But then…then the silence was replaced by a shrieking wind that whooshed into the room, blowing open the windows and scattering loose papers all around. Sam's dark hair whipped around her face, and she shielded her eyes as a bright red light began to emanate from the broken shards of the pendant. Sam could feel Danny's arms wrap around her and she screwed her eyes shut as the shrieking reached a high and the light blinded everyone's eyesight. Then, suddenly, the shrieking stopped and the entire room went still again, the light fading into only sunlight filtering through the window. Sam opened her eyes slowly, taking in the messy library and the still cowering people in the room…but her eyes drifted towards a couple calmly standing in the center of the room, where all the ruby shards were.

The man was tall and wide, with black hair streaked with gray near the temples and sparkling blue eyes. He looked intimidating, but the wide smile on his face belied that first impression. Beside him, was a beautiful, matronly looking woman with short, reddish hair and sparkling purple eyes. She had a gentle smile on her face and…and she was the woman from her dream! These two were Jack and Maddie Fenton! She elbowed Danny in the side to get his attention. "Danny! Look!"

Danny's face looked up and Sam heard his breath catch. He loosened his hold around Sam and walked around her, looking incredulously at the beaming pair standing before them. Sam could spot Jazz doing the same thing from the other side of the room; her eyes and mouth wide open as she gazed into the faces of two people she hadn't seen in over a hundred years! "Mom? Dad?" both asked at nearly the same time, looks of disbelief morphing quickly into excitement as the two elder Fentons nodded, tearfully.

Sam let out a happy laugh as she saw the Fenton family; father, mother, son and daughter hug and cry, reuniting in a joyous quartet. The feeling she had been feeling for so long had finally lifted, leaving only peace of mind and she sighed happily as Valerie walked over and stood beside her. She looked over at the dark haired warrior and grinned at the bemused and amazed look on her face.

"Now is it over?" Valerie asked in a whisper.

"Well, almost," Sam said with a grin. "After all, we still have a wedding!"

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Goodness! Sorry this took so long everyone! Good news, only the epilogue left of this sucker and I'm done with school for the summer! Thank you everyone who was patient with me during April! Please review and let me know what you think!

Osco


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Epilogue

_**Withering (13/13)**_

Rating: T

Warnings: Uh…violence, character death, romance that could be considered necrophilia , gratuitous abuse of our favorite halfa.

Pairings: DxS, TxJ

Summary: Based loosely off "Beauty and the Beast." A prince cursed to walk among the dead, and a maiden drawn to it…can she save him before all the petals wither away?

Note: Part of my mini Disney project…and because I think it's high time that Sam does some heroic work for a helpless Danny !

**Disclaimer: **I, in no way shape or form, own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom…Butch Hartmann and Nickelodeon has that honor. Nor do I own anything affiliated with Disney…I'm just borrowing and warping a story they borrowed. I'm a mere college girl attempting to entertain herself.

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**Chapter Thirteen: **_** Epilogue: A Not so Normal Happily Ever After**_

"I now pronounce you Husband, and Wife…you may kiss the bride."

Sam smiled and cheered along with everyone else as Tucker and Jazz leaned in and smilingly kissed each other in union. She flashed Jazz a thumbs up as the red-head gave her bridesmaids one parting, brilliant smile before taking off down the aisle, hand in hand with newly christened husband. She looked around to see the Fenton parents, Jack and Maddie, smiling and cheering after their daughter while Jack tried to covertly wipe a beefy hand under his eyes and the Foley parents beaming happily as their son stared goofily at his new bride. She caught Valerie's eye, who had also graciously worn a dress instead of her usual breeches and sword in honor of being a bridesmaid, and the two shared a private smirk as they watched the couple fade from sight as the crowd converged around them. Weddings were always such sappy affairs.

Sam turned away from the fleeing couple and the many well-wishers crowding the castle entrance to shout their congratulations to smile at the black-haired young man across the way. Danny wasn't cheering anymore, just staring happily after his best friend and older sister even though he probably couldn't see them anymore through the throng of people, looking utterly content. She cleared her throat and smirked when he looked over at her, startled for a fraction of a second, and then fixed that same content look on her. Sam could feel her cheeks heat up, but she knew it wasn't form embarrassment or from shyness, merely from pleasure at seeing such a light-hearted expression on Danny's face.

Danny, Sam knew, was still dealing with many of the same issues he had been facing before his parents had been rescued from their stone-prison, which often caused him to focus on less than pleasant things. Being almost completely isolated for a hundred years, facing the prospect of a rather horrible death at the hands of a deranged fruit loop could have that affect on a person. Add on top of that his state of halfway- undead status and nobody could really blame him for becoming much more introspective than he had originally been before the curse. Sam hadn't known Danny then, true, but she had heard so many stories about Danny's childhood during her stay in the manor that she too felt a sort of pang for that loss. Plus, there seemed to be something bothering Danny, something that seemed to make his eyes look haunted when he thought no one was looking. Sam was confident that Danny would eventually be able to break out of his self-imposed shell, especially with his parents now returned, but she knew it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. So, whenever Danny was completely at ease, with nothing of his curse, confinement, or Plasmius on his mind, it was always something Sam treasured.

"So, I take it you're not going to secretly castrate Tucker later on for marrying your sister?" Sam asked. Her tone was nonchalant, but her eyes were sparkling playfully as she crossed the aisle and knotted their hands together.

"Of course not," Danny replied smoothly. He gave Sam a wicked smirk as they started to exit the hall, quiet far behind most of the guests who had already hurried out to bid the new couple good luck. "Can't phase through walls and ceilings anymore, can I? Too much of a hassle to have to sneak in like a common thief."

Sam let out a giggle that was probably quite unbecoming of her supposed demeanor, but she didn't much care as Danny's poker face slipped off and he began to laugh beside her. This moment Sam found herself in with Danny was too nice to ruin by worrying over whether anyone saw her acting even the slightest bit 'girly.' The two kept up an increasingly ridiculous conversation on their way to the reception in the main ballroom (now completely cleaned of any leftover bits of Plasmius, much to Sam's relief), concerning Tucker's reprieve from castration, but also exploring other excruciating demises he could meet if Danny and Sam worked together. The worked hard to control their now hysterical laughter as they walked into the ballroom, taking their designated places at the main table along with the bride's and groom's parents, drawing speculatively glances from other guests. Sam surmised it was probably because of the shaking, but she didn't know for sure; their faces probably looked interesting as well.

Neither Sam nor Danny really paid much attention to the different speeches that random lords and ladies gave from Amity Park to their newly discovered monarchs, they had a much more important work to be done as they made random creations with their napkins and utensils, having a contest to see who could make the better napkin-house. Sam, naturally, won. Their attention did snap out of their own world when Tucker and Jazz reentered the ballroom, looking very pleased with themselves, Sam thought ruefully, and joined in with the cheers as they shared their first dance. Others eventually trickled onto the dance floor, including Danny and Sam for a time, until the entire floor was teeming with happy dancers celebrating. Sam left the floor for a break after a time, leaving Danny dancing with his sister after he expressed how happy he was for her. She watched the crowd for a moment before her eyes drifted back, almost unconsciously, back to Danny; that damn goofy grin she was always loathe to wear spread across her face as she watched him spin his sister with a genuine smile of his own.

"He does look happy, doesn't he?" a voice asked to Sam's left, startling her. Sam looked up and found the kind face of Maddie Fenton gazing back at her, her own eyes, a strange blue that almost looked lilac in some lights, fixed upon her with unwavering intensity. Sam looked over at a po-going Jack Fenton, who did indeed look happy, but her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle laugh from Maddie. "I was referring to my son, but I suppose the sentiment could apply to Jack too!"

"Oh," Sam replied. She felt stupid with her reply, but couldn't think of anything else to say to Maddie Fenton. True, the woman had been giving her dream visions through a shared gypsy blood-line, but Sam hadn't talked to Danny's mother alone in the month she had been back. Sam really didn't know why she felt so awkward around the queen, Maddie didn't come across as someone like her own mother at all, but Sam always felt...inadequate for some reason when around her. "I guess he does."

Maddie smiled softly in her son's direction before directing her strange eyes back on Sam, giving the violet-eyed girl a reassuring smile at the obvious apprehension in her face. "I want to thank you, Sam."

Sam's apprehension quickly morphed into one of confusion at the very sincere tone in Maddie voice, but couldn't voice anything aloud as the woman started to speak again.

"I know it doesn't seem all that incredible, to you, what you've done for my family, but it truly is. It took a big leap of faith for you to believe in the visions I gave you, and an even bigger one to fall in love with a being who could very well have been immortal to you. It took strength to believe in someone who didn't believe in himself and courage to defend him to an entire town of frightened townspeople. It took dedication to teach my son all that you did about life and himself, and it took love to come back to try and save him. You did all those things, plus so many more, and for that, I cannot thank you enough."

Maddie paused, and Sam felt her cheeks flare up again, this time in embarrassment and she murmured that anyone would have done what she did, and that she really wasn't that special. It was strange to receive so much praise from this strong and impressively gifted woman, and she suddenly felt the need to explain she really hadn't done much to help get rid of Plasmius or anything…after all, she had almost been too late and had left Danny in the first place. Maddie however, had over ideas and held up hand, effectively silencing Sam in a way Pamela Manson never could.

"Do not belittle the greatness of what you have done, Sam. As I said, not many people would have bothered to give my son a chance after seeing what he was, only fearing him and thinking him a perversion of nature. You, however, never saw him as that. Arrogant, brash, rude, and stubborn to be sure, but never a monster. He was a person to you, a person with faults and fears who was so lonely and hopeless you stuck with him even though I know he drove you crazy. That makes you quite a rare creature, Samantha Manson, one I am so happy listened to my dreams and found it in her heart to help a cold and near heartless boy return to the gentle and strong young man I see now."

"Oh…well thank you," Sam responded quietly. "I mean I love him so of course I didn't want anything bad to happen to him or anything…"

"Yes, you _loved_ my Danny," Maddie interrupted with an enigmatic smile. "And that, my dear, is the truly amazing thing." She patted Sam's cheek gently before looking back onto the floor as her large husband bounced his way over and through guests. "Oh dear, looks as if I better stop Jack before he po-gos into the punch table. Sam, would you do my a favor and take Danny outside for some fresh air? I daresay there are a few things he needs to say to you before this night is over."

Sam's face grew even more confused at the last knowing look Maddie gave her before wading into the crowd. Why did every hint given need to be cryptic and vague? Was it a rule or something? Sam gave a sigh as she waded back into the crowd herself, latching onto Danny's arm after finding him dancing with an eager looking Paulina. Well, dancing was probably too loose a term for Paulina's hands gripping Danny's arms while he tried to pull away, insisting that he was with someone and needed to get back to her. The scene would have inspired jealousy, but for the utterly panicked and lost look on his face that quickly morphed into relief as Sam hauled him away. Sam resisted the urge to smirk back at the no doubt fuming expression that had probably over-taken Paulina's face, instead giving Danny a quick kiss as she lead him out of the ballroom.

"Uh, where are we going, Sam?" Danny asked once they were out in the hall. He smiled amusedly as Sam continued to haul him through the castle. "I don't think your mother would approve of us being alone together in a currently abandoned castle. Probably would accuse you of 'improper things unbefitting a lady of your standing' or something else to that affect."

Sam snorted as she imagined her mother yelling sternly at her that very thing…of course it would be her fault, not 'Prince Daniel's.' Although, upon further reflection, she probably would be correct in that assumption, Sam thought with a sly grin. "I just wanted some fresh air, thought you might want to accompany me."

"Uh, you never asked me, Sam."

"I know."

Danny laughed as he squeezed her hand and let her continue to lead the way. Sam led them through varying corridors and up different stairwells until they were outside in one of Sam's favorite gardens, the one she could see from her bedroom window in the castle. She inhaled the fresh smell of gardenias and lilies mixed with the fresh dirt and gave Danny a smile as she sat down on one of the benches, patting the spot beside her. He hesitated for a moment before joining her, that flicker of something appearing in his eyes before the happy twinkle there before replaced it. Sam wondered if whatever was bothering Danny, the whatever that Sam thought had nothing to do with what usually caused him to go quiet and melancholy, was what Maddie had been referring to. She had seen the haunted and almost desperately fearful look in his eyes again, the one that she sometimes imagined seeing, for a moment, as if Danny was dreading something. Dreading and expecting something…Sam's brows frowned in worry at his expression.

"Danny, what's going on? What's wrong?" Sam asked bluntly. Her suspicions were confirmed when the worry free expression crumbled into one of complete and utter dread as he dropped her hand and looked away. "What's bothering you lately? Today is the first time in a while that you've been genuinely happy, at least since your parents returned. I mean, I know you're dealing with other things, like Plasmius and the curse, but whatever you're usually thinking about is really worrying you, and I don't really know--"

"I guess you talked with my mom, uh?" Danny interrupted her softly, rising from the bench and eyes downcast. His arms were wrapped around his torso as he paced back and forth, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

"Well, actually yeah I di--"

The rest of Sam's response died in her throat as gasp escaped her mouth. Two silver rings appeared at Danny's waist and traveled in opposite directions over his body. When the rings were gone, a very familiar figure with snowy white hair and scared looking green eyes was looking back at her, body effusing a soft glow and dropping the temperature around them slightly. Sam was looking back at Phantom…but Phantom shouldn't exist anymore because the curse was lifted! "Danny…what…?"

"I-I don't know," Danny said softly, pleadingly, mistaking her astonished surprise for something else. "It just…it just happened one day with my parents. My mom thinks that Plasmius' curse was too powerful to completely overthrow, so even though I'm human, I'm still technically a ghost too. I can turn back and everything, become human and ghost, but I…I mean…I didn't want this to happen Sam…it just…"

Sam rose from the bench too and wrapped her arms around Danny, not caring that his skin was cold one whit. She could almost feel Danny shake with relief as he wrapped his arms around her as well, hugging her tightly to him and letting out a shaky breath in her hair. Sam pulled back slightly, only to raise her head and press her lips to his cold ones, one hand snaking through his hair while the other linked their hands together. She tried to pour everything Danny needed into that kiss: reassurance, humor, exasperation, understanding, and love…everything. She didn't know how long they stayed fused together, so close that her mind couldn't tell where she ended and he began, but when they finally did separate, she looked down and found that they were floating….just like when they had been dancing.

"Idiot," Sam whispered against Danny's neck as she wrapped both arms around his neck and held him close. "Why would you think this would matter? I loved you when you were Phantom and I love you when you're Danny…obviously that means I can love you as Danny Phantom."

Danny pulled away and gave her an unfathomable look, to which she just grinned and ran a hand through his soft hair again. "Danny Phantom, uh?"

"I know, catchy, isn't it?"

"Yeah…yeah it is." Danny smiled again, his flickering between blue and green as he grabbed the hand in his hair and linked his fingers with hers. "Although, let's not tell Tucker about it…I don't want a corny theme song about me fighting ghosts or anything."

"Of course not, love, of course not."

Sam and Danny danced in the stars for the remainder of the night, into really caring when Sam's mother came out, hollering for her daughter to come out from hiding that instant. All that mattered was each other and their fairy dance in the sky, miles above everything else. That was all that had ever mattered, they decided, and all that ever would.

_Fin._

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It's done! Goodness, I've been waiting to write that last scene for AGES!!!! Ever since I came up with the idea for this story last year! I'm so sorry for the wait everyone, but I hope this was worth it! I cannot believe how amazing the response has been to this story and I heartily thank each and every one of you who has read and reviewed, or maybe even just read, this story from start to finish! I hope that you all will let me know what you think of this story, even if you maybe didn't review before! It feels very cathartic to finish this story…I'm actually pretty pleased with and I hope everyone else enjoyed Sam's and Danny's journey as well. I'm sure I'll see you all again…thank you so much for tagging along on this journey with me! Until next time then, I bid you all a fond adieu!

Osco


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